


A Reflection in the Mirror

by starbunny



Category: Dishonored (Video Game)
Genre: Crack, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Low Chaos (Dishonored), Low Chaos Daud, M/M, Post-Low Chaos Ending, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-18
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-07-15 19:17:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 34,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7235206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starbunny/pseuds/starbunny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This takes place post-Low Chaos ending. Daud never actually leaves Dunwall and Corvo decides enough is enough, and goes to confront the assassin to hopefully end it once and for all. But their little feud starts to stretch out for many months, and both start to realise they are more similar than they would like to admit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Second Encounter

Corvo hadn’t liked wearing gloves, and although he donned them all the time in royal service, he flung them out at any given opportunity. His mask however, had been thrown out into the sewers right after getting Emily back. He had never liked that damned mask, and it had nothing to do with the wires and hollow eyes. It marked him as something he was not…an assassin, a murderous killer. 

The reason he was here today was simple: Daud. 

The red-cladded assassin had said he would leave Dunwall, and yet, after three months since sparing him, Daud remained, as did his whalers. Corvo could sometimes spot a whaler or two spying on the palace before they hurriedly blinked away under his burning glare. 

So of course, at the first opportunity he had, he made his way to the Flooded District, demanding an explanation. Getting in was still easy, and as he neared Daud’s office, two whalers walked down the corridor.

“Still brooding?” One asked. 

The other nodded, and sighed. 

“He’s been like this ever since he murdered that Empress, and it got worse when the Royal Protector spared him.” 

The whalers finally looked up, and spotted Corvo just…standing there. The two jumped, but neither screamed. They froze, and a short silence followed, with Corvo just watching them.

Neither drew their swords, and Corvo kept his hooked to his belt. 

The two whalers then looked at each other, before they made a transversal away. If they had been frightened, Corvo couldn’t tell with their masks on. It didn’t feel like they were running. From experience, Corvo knew the whalers were unhesitant about fighting and protecting their master, Daud. More possibly, they were letting him go on, or maybe they wanted him to. Something about doing what the whalers wanted annoyed him, but Corvo let that slide once he thought of Daud, and how the assassin ripped his life away from him.

Up till now, Corvo didn’t know why he spared the scarred assassin. Maybe it was that sharp horror he felt as he stared into Daud’s eyes as Daud begged for his life. Corvo had felt as though he was staring at the mirror…at himself. Or maybe some part of him wanted Daud to pay, to live out his life with all that pent up guilt. 

Corvo blinked into the office, ready to beat Daud’s ass (again), but instead, he found Daud sitting on his desk, doing (of all things)…reading. 

Something about that sight irked Corvo, and anger burst to life in him. His mark flared, and mid-growl, he had pulled Daud up and slammed the older man on the ground. Daud made no sound of pain, and he looked at Corvo with faint surprise. 

“Attano.” He greeted serenely, as though welcoming him. As though Corvo was just a guest, and wasn’t, well, the man who just knocked him to the ground. 

“Daud.” Corvo returned, eyes narrowing. 

“What brings you here, bodyguard?” 

“You said you would leave.” 

Daud considered Corvo for a moment, unperturbed by Corvo’s grip around his neck. 

“I have nowhere to go.” He finally said, his eyes falling off Corvo’s. His gravely voice was unusually soft, and Corvo’s grip faltered. 

Corvo glared at him, and Daud returned a cool stare. Corvo huffed, releasing Daud, not before jarring him back once in silent threat. 

“Master.” Another voice interrupted. 

Both Corvo and Daud whirled around to see a whaler dressed in blue. The whaler froze, and he looked to Corvo, before Daud. 

“I apologise, I’ve interrupted something.” The whaler bowed, and blinked away before Daud could say anything. 

“Damn him.” Corvo heard Daud mutter under his breath. 

Corvo started walking around the office, flipping through a couple books, and ransacking through piles of notes as though he owned the damned place. 

“What are you doing?” Daud finally questioned, when Corvo overturned a whole stack of papers. 

Corvo didn’t respond, much less acknowledged Daud’s presence, and continued his search. 

Irritation jabbed at Corvo the more he looked at the things in Daud’s office. No assassination offers, no letters, no incriminating blackmail material…Somehow, Corvo was disappointed, and angry. 

Surely he was scheming something! Surely he was still the same assassin, he couldn’t…change. Not like this. He couldn’t be this all good. There was surely some nasty part in him that still existed. He couldn’t…shouldn’t be this…good. Corvo couldn’t forgive him, and he tipped over a stack of papers in frustration. 

“Are you done destroying my office?” Daud asked. His voice was unusually flat, and from experience in court, Corvo knew it was a tone used to mask annoyance.

Corvo’s glance must have been menacing, and he overturned Daud’s table in retaliation, watching Daud’s face sour. A smirk threatened to take over Corvo’s face, but he squashed it away.

“Did you come here just to do that?” Daud’s voice was steely, and it hid his irritation well. 

Corvo tore a paper up, his eyes trained on Daud’s. The last straw came when Corvo pointedly toppled over a stack of books to the floor. 

Daud slammed his fist on the table, and a loud crack reverberated through the air. Daud let out a growl, and launched at Corvo. 

Corvo was thrown to the floor, and he snarled, rolling to gain leverage over the red-cladded assassin. Daud wasn’t having that, and was quickly straddling the thrashing Lord Protector.

Corvo punched him in the face, and the sensation of his fist hitting Daud’s skin made a dark satisfaction blossom to life. Corvo kicked him off easily in that moment of distraction, and pummeled into Daud. 

Neither drew their swords, and both were exchanging blow after blow, with increasing intensity and frustration. 

Meanwhile, three whalers, Steven, Thomas and Aedan, were watching the fight unfold from the second floor. 

“Are they...trying to kill each other? Should we stop them?” Steven asked. 

“This is how two hot-blooded men communicate.” 

“By killing each other?” 

Thomas shrugged, and Steven decided to drop the subject. 

Corvo called on his mark and the windblast took Daud by surprise, although he simply blinked away easily in the next moment. 

“What, learnt a new party trick?” Daud snarled. 

Corvo swung a jab at Daud, which Daud dodged by swerving sharply to the right. 

“Well what party trick did you perform to get into Jessamine’s pants?” 

That was a low blow, Daud knew that the moment he said it, but it was too late to retract it when he was this agitated. Corvo’s reaction was vehement, and Daud didn’t dodge his next punch which hit him square in the face. 

Corvo charged and tackled Daud to the ground, his sword out and pressed against Daud’s bare throat. Daud didn’t say anything. He simply looked at Corvo, noticed how the bodyguard’s expression was cracked and broken, but still didn’t say anything. 

Corvo let out a scream of pure agony, all the pent up frustration and anger leaking out in his pained voice, and dropped the sword to the ground. The sword collided into the ground with a metallic clank, and the only sounds remaining in the room were Corvo’s and Daud’s panting. The normally calm and quiet Lord Protector was broken, a mass of conflicting emotions that ate away at his soul like rats to a human body. And Daud still didn’t say anything. He could have mocked Corvo, baited him to throw another punch at his face, to slice his flesh open…but he didn’t. Daud just stared at the man on top of him, eyes shattered and soul torn, held together desperately by whatever fragment of determination the bodyguard could muster in this fractured state. 

Corvo’s weight on him lifted, and Daud didn’t get up yet. He eyed Corvo who was kneeling on the ground sweaty and tired, seeing for the first time how deep the strain of Coldridge and Burrow’s conspiracy had set into Corvo’s face. 

The tips of Corvo’s long hair were drenched, and the aches and pains were starting to hit both men hard. Neither had a problem with pain. They could probably fight all day if they could, but both were broken and too torn apart inside to do so, even if they didn’t admit it themselves. 

“Get out of Dunwall.” Corvo got up, gritting his teeth. He refused to meet Daud’s gaze, even as he walked over to pick up his fallen sword. “Don’t make me come back.” Corvo finished, giving Daud a solid glare before he blinked away, leaving Daud alone in the office. 

He scanned the destruction Corvo had caused in the office and let out a curse, before he started to rearrange his office. What a splendid day it was. Daud was actually getting quite interested in a book and the damned bodyguard had to come by and ruin everything. 

Thomas made a transversal down, and Daud noticed Steven and Aedan on the second floor, leaning over and just watching. 

“You know sir…Violence is a sign of pregnancy.” Aedan said offhandedly, and Steven snorted and bent over. 

Daud gave him a dangerous scowl. 

“That’s funny, because you two are now in charge of the novices for the next month or two. Or maybe the year.” 

Steven ceased his laughter immediately, and that almost made Daud smirk. The two blinked away. 

Thomas was silent, and he started to pick up the fallen documents from the floor. 

“You don’t have to help.” 

“I want to, sir.” 

Daud didn’t bother arguing. Thomas was stubborn and awfully unreceptive to Daud’s shouting and tantrums. He sighed instead, and allowed Thomas to do as he pleased. Daud could still see Corvo’s haunting face, now a mess of burns and scars, staining its way to the back of Daud’s mind, just like how Jessamine’s face took root in his soul and ripped him apart. It was excruciating to regret the murder of an empress, witness the downfall of an empire, and worst of all, see first-hand how much you destroyed another person’s life. Corvo Attano, a dishonoured Royal Protector, kind even after being betrayed, gentle despite violent beatings, and most of all, honourable even in the face of a man who singlehandedly destroyed his entire world.


	2. Never Gift Flowers

But Daud didn’t leave, and Corvo showed up at the Flooded District a month later overhearing two whalers complaining about training the novices. 

The two whalers stopped in their tracks, staring at Corvo as he bent down to enter through a window. This was…familiar, Corvo thought. He felt a vague annoyance at being caught yet again, but didn’t attack. 

“It’s all your fault we’re attached to the novices” One grumbled, a little loudly. The other elbowed him harshly and then both blinked away. 

Daud actually noticed Corvo coming in that day, and his expression darkened. 

“Bodyguard.” Daud said, even though greetings for them both were more likely a prelude to violent fighting and unnecessary bloodshed. 

Corvo was first to attack, and Daud was prepared for it, blocking the first punch with ease. Corvo drew his sword with a snarl, and Daud pulled his out. 

Blade met blade in a flurry of blinks, evenly matched. 

“You haven’t left.” Corvo snarled when he parried Daud’s overhand strike.

“And you continue to astound with your wonderful etiquette. Is attacking people your mode of greeting now, Lord Protector?” Daud spat. 

“I guess murdering the Empress was good etiquette then.” Corvo snapped back, and Daud’s eyes narrowed. 

Daud cut into Corvo’s upper arm with a slice, and Corvo retaliated by hitting back with the hilt of his collapsible blade. 

Blood coated Daud’s knife, but Corvo made no sound of pain. 

Corvo managed to cut Daud back in the thigh with a downward sweep, and although the blood wasn’t very obvious on the assassin’s red suit, it still gave Corvo a nagging satisfaction. 

Daud performed a tethering and knocked Corvo off his feet, just as Corvo sent a violent windblast to his face. Both snarled and continued to slash at each other viciously, without a care for the attentive audience on the second floor both hadn’t noticed. 

There were five whalers on the second floor this time. Cleon and Yuri had joined to watch the fight unfold, along with Thomas, Steven and Aedan. 

“So who’d you reckon will win?” Cleon asked. 

“Master, naturally.” Yuri shot Cleon a look, as though Cleon was insane. 

“Daud lost once.” Steven supplied. “Well, twice actually.” 

“That was then.” Yuri said firmly. 

“Do you want to place bets then?” 

And so, three whalers bet that Daud would emerge victorious, while Cleon and Steven bet otherwise. 

Daud set off a chokedust bomb, and Corvo blinked away and shot a bolt at Daud. Daud stopped time effortlessly, escaping the bolt. Time resumed later, and both Corvo and Daud were drenched and panting again, although their eyes were lively and sharp. 

Daud used pull once again, and the Lord Protector was knocked to the ground once more. Daud used that split second to pin the bodyguard down, sword pressing into the Lord Protector’s throat. 

“Are you done?” 

“You need to leave Dunwall.” Corvo insisted, even though he was in no position to be demanding things with a blade to his throat.

“I will stay wherever the fuck I want.” 

Corvo glared at him, and Daud returned it. There were cuts on his arm and leg, all bleeding lazily and staining his red uniform. But Corvo was in no better shape. He had cuts on his face and arms, all leaking blood as well. 

“Get off me.” Corvo snapped, but Daud didn’t budge. 

“You’re not coming back again.” Daud growled, and then released the bodyguard. He knew that statement meant nothing. Corvo would be more determined to come back the next time.

Corvo stumbled, catching himself, and blinked away without another word, just as a drop of blood from his face dripped to the ground, staining the wood. Staring at the bloodstain made Daud’s heart sink. He knew that Corvo was quiet, stoic even, and he knew what it meant for him to lose all composure that when facing Daud. Corvo absolutely hated Daud, and Daud hated himself. 

And then a sudden cheer from the second floor broke his train of thought. He looked up, finally noticing the audience. 

He cursed at his own inattention. 

“All of you are assigned extra chores for a damned week.” He barked. “And you, Aedan, you get two weeks!” 

“But-” Aedan started. 

“Three then.” 

Aedan shut up, and transversed away without another word. The rest followed, although Thomas remained. 

“Maybe you should find him the next time, sir.” 

“One more word and I’ll have you thrown to the hagfish.” Daud growled, and Thomas disappeared. 

But as Daud started treating his injuries, part of him refused to acknowledge the pleasant buzzing sensation coursing through his body, and how he hungered for more. By the Void, he would never admit that the bodyguard was the reason for it. 

The next week was uneventful. Thomas commented that Daud was less temperamental, and Daud assigned him extra duties. Cleon seemed indifferent, but his mood was always sour during mealtimes, when half of his portions were split between Thomas, Aedan and Yuri. Aedan was happy with the extra food, but continued to grumble about his extra chores and the idiocy of the novices. Yuri was especially gleeful, and he continued to express his undying admiration for his master. Steven…he was completely unaffected. 

And then that was ruined when Daud returned to his bed one night to find that his mattress and pillow have vanished. Daud was at first completely shocked, in sheer disbelief. He had thought one of his whalers, Aedan probably, decided to prank him. He questioned them, and none admitted to the deed. Cleon brazenly told Daud that it was probably Corvo, but Daud rejected the ridiculous notion. The Lord Protector would never do such a stupid thing instead of well, just killing him. And then Daud saw that the papers and books on his table were also relocated to the floor, a chair was suspiciously overturned, and his face soured. 

The next day after that, Corvo found his uniform burnt to crisp. 

The day after that, Daud found Aedan and Steven in a laughing bout, before he noticed the five copies of ‘The Young Prince of Tyvia’ blatantly left open right outside his office.

Later, Corvo found fucking flowers scattered all over his office. Emily was very delighted of course, Corvo…not so much. And apparently, flowers were the last straw, and Corvo genuinely considered killing the stupid assassin as he went to confront Daud the following day. 

The audience upstairs had now grown to include some novices, and when Daud snapped at them to go away, Steven said something about “being a proper mentor to the novices by showing them an exemplar fight”. 

“I didn’t realise you were such a fan of ‘The Young Prince of Tyvia’, Lord Protector. Impressive collection.” 

“Didn’t know gifting fucking flowers were your thing either. The last ‘gift’ you gave was the blood of the empress.” 

“What’s funny are the flower crowns the new empress made you wear around yesterday.” 

Corvo narrowed his eyes, and drew his sword. Of course, what other civilised way were the two men going to communicate with? 

Their blades mashed together over and over as the two blinked about the room. Daud set off another chokedust and Corvo took that chance and lack of visibility to shoot a bolt through the cloud. A hiss of pain made Corvo’s lips quirk upwards, and he stepped back to avoid the cloud of choking gas. 

He realised his mistake too late when a bolt of electricity struck him. Corvo yelped. A stun mine! His muscles froze and pain shot up his body. He gritted his teeth hard and quickly downed an elixir before his legs gave way. 

Corvo tossed the bottle aside and blinked away, not before a stray bolt from Daud grazed his upper arm. Daud punched Corvo hard, and Corvo kicked him square in the chest.

Corvo spat out blood from his mouth, and readied his sword once more. 

He growled and lunged for Daud. Corvo’s weight hit the floor instead as Daud transversed, but Corvo rolled over in time to avoid Daud’s retaliatory slash. Corvo hit back with a low jab, and took the chance to slam into Daud, effectively pinning him. 

Corvo won. 

Their eyes met. The fury, sadness, guilt…all of that were still there, even though neither of them would comment about it. It was close to a glare, but some heat from their usual glare had been replaced with begrudging respect. They were both absolutely drenched in sweat once more, clothes stained with blood, body aching from bruises and blows that were now starting to flare up with pain. 

“Leave this place.” Corvo said, but by now, both men knew it to be a pointless request. Corvo got off Daud, and prepared to leave, when a whaler blinked down to face him. 

“Lord Attano.” The whaler greeted, his head nodding. His hand held a health elixir, and Corvo stared at it suspiciously. 

After a short silence, Corvo did take it, making a noncommittal sound that could probably be interpreted as thanks. Corvo disappeared, and the whalers upstairs were starting to make a ruckus. 

“When were you this generous, Thomas?” Daud’s voice was harsh, but Thomas didn’t flinch. 

“Sir.” Thomas made a low bow, and pulled out another health elixir for Daud. Daud snatched it, mumbling something that had some semblance to ‘thank you’. 

Daud didn’t bother assigning the whalers any punishment, he knew it wasn’t going to deter them from sneaking in. If anything, it encouraged more to join their little audience. 

When all the whalers left, Daud finally let himself enjoy the buzzing feeling that he had been craving since the Lord Protector’s last visit. He found his lips threatening to form a smile. He fought the desire, but as he looked on the fallen empty elixir that the Lord Protector had thrown to the ground, the smile settled on his face, and for the first time in a long while, his knitted eyebrows relaxed. They may hate each other, but neither would deny that the other was a fantastic sparring partner.


	3. The Missing Link

There were no pranks for a week, and Daud was vaguely disappointed. He did, however, find amusement at Aedan’s complaints of a lack of food after losing some kind of bet. Daud personally didn’t care what the bet was, as long as it was giving Aedan some well-deserved misery. Thomas too, had reduced portions, but Daud didn’t bother questioning the men. The whalers’ bets were none of his concern. Yuri was starting to follow Daud around more closely than before. That wasn’t unusual, Daud had grown used to Yuri’s obsession with him, but it was extremely unsettling to see Yuri right there when Daud turned around. Meanwhile, Cleon had been bragging constantly during the week, and Steven…well…he remained the same as always. 

Corvo, on the other hand, had firmly decided he was going to forget about the assassin and the stupid flowers, until a particular visit from the black-eyed god in his dreams. 

If Corvo wasn’t dreaming of chains and hot pain, his dreams were dominated by the Void, and of the Outsider. He preferred dreaming of the Void of course, filled with hues of blue and purple that were oddly soothing to Corvo (not that he’ll ever admit that to the Outsider). 

This time, Corvo found himself in a look-alike of the Flooded District. Corvo recognised Daud’s office, the mess of books and papers. But before Corvo could do anything, the young god appeared in front of him, his black eyes boring into Corvo’s.

“Hello Corvo.”

Corvo was silent. 

“Daud is certainly on your mind often. Are you perhaps planning for your latest prank?” 

Corvo still didn’t reply, and merely observed the Outsider as the god floated over the ground, surrounded by ethereal wisps of shadows. 

“You have always been interesting, but this…is unexpected. You choose such…banal methods to persuade him into leaving. Other men would have chosen more extreme options, but I suppose you have tried that already.” 

The Outsider cocked his head to the side, waiting for Corvo to respond. The Outsider had never been openly offended at Corvo’s silence, but Corvo had learnt to know when the deity genuinely wanted an answer or explanation. 

“This irritates him more so than violence and blood, I don’t see why not. Fighting him is inefficient, and frankly, infuriating.” 

“You’re not wrong. Threats and violence are empty to him. Strange that such childish methods frustrate him more so than a knife to the throat.” The Outsider said. 

The Outsider considered Corvo for a moment, watching the human before him with unmistakable interest.

“Daud hasn’t been particularly fascinating as of late, ever since Delilah, but your little encounters with him have started to interest me.” The Outsider mused. 

That caught Corvo’s attention.

“Who’s Delilah?” 

The Outsider smiled, smug and all-knowing, like he already predicted that reaction. 

“Why don’t you question that assassin you so fancy? Perhaps you two could act out that passage of ‘The Young Prince of Tyvia’ you seem so fond of while you’re at it.” 

Before Corvo could curse and yell rude things, the Ousider vanished, and Corvo woke up. 

It wasn’t dawn yet, and so Corvo continued to lie on the bed. He would have to check on Emily later, and attend another series of agonising meetings. Thinking about his long day only made Corvo sink his head deeper into the soft pillow. It was his responsibility, yes, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed it. Jessamine wasn’t here anymore; it pained him to even remember that. Then what the Outsider mentioned came back into his mind. Who was Delilah? Corvo had remembered Jessamine talking about her before, but what did Daud have to do with her? 

He was curious, most certainly. 

And so, after the all the scheduled meetings, Corvo excused himself, and made his way back to the Flooded District. 

But the master assassin was away it seemed. A whaler in blue had helpfully told him that when Corvo appeared in the hallway. 

“I wasn’t looking for him.” Corvo retorted. 

The whaler looked at him for a moment, before he resigned to nodding agreeably under Corvo’s heated gaze. 

“How may I help you then, Lord Attano?” The whaler bowed slightly. 

Corvo considered lying, but the whaler seemed friendly enough. He was the same whaler who had offered Corvo a health elixir that day after all. 

“I wanted to ask about Delilah.” 

The whaler noticeably froze. 

“Delilah?” 

Corvo’s eyes narrowed. 

“Tell me about her.” Corvo ordered, folding his arms. 

“I don’t know anything about her.” The whaler said firmly.

Corvo sighed out loud, and turned away to leave. There were other ways to find out besides threatening Daud’s whalers. He wasn’t going to argue, or start a fight.

“Daud ordered us not to speak of her.” The whaler added, making Corvo pause. He caught the whaler’s implication, and asked instead, 

“What’s your name?” 

The whaler seemed surprised. 

“Thomas, my lord.” 

Corvo grunted back in acknowledgement, and blinked away. 

Thomas must be hinting that there were other ways to find out. If they weren’t allowed to speak of her, surely there was some written evidence of what happened. 

Maybe in a journal. 

Something like…

Daud’s journal. 

Corvo’s eyes widened, and he turned back, blinking into Daud’s office. He remembered reading the journal before. He had read an excerpt, one of Daud’s later entries, but nothing before that. Perhaps Delilah would be written there. 

Corvo walked around the office, his eyes perusing the place in a rapid but meticulous fashion. But he didn’t see any brown worn book. The incriminating journal was not here.

Corvo then went upstairs, and looked through the assassin’s bookshelf. 

It wasn’t there either. What was there, however, were the five copies of ‘The Young Prince of Tyvia’ Corvo had left here once, and Corvo found a smirk on his face before he could help it.

It was probably in his chest, Corvo thought. Burying through his pockets, he found the small key that he had stolen the last time he was here. The chest opened with a satisfying ‘click’. 

Daud apparently owned many strange things. Corvo found a rolled-up note, a patch of old cloth, a fountain pen (which was suspiciously similar to the one Corvo had misplaced back in his office) and most bizarre of the lot, a jar of seashells, all unique in shape, colour and pattern. Corvo frowned at it, but before he could even think about wondering why, he caught sight of the brown journal. 

Corvo pulled it out, smiling a little at his victory. 

Corvo then noticed the huge stash of gold, easily thousands, hidden underneath the journal. Corvo entertained the thought of taking the money and leaving the most incriminating page from ‘The Young Prince of Tyvia’ there in its place, but the sound of footsteps downstairs made Corvo pocket the journal, hurriedly close the chest and blink away to escape. 

Corvo didn’t have the chance to look at the journal until dead in the night, after saying good night to Emily. 

Daud wrote about being regretful for leaving Corvo to take the blame, and wrote about the guilt from killing Jessamine. Reading that made Corvo’s fingers grip more tightly around the journal, he flipped back even more, and his eyes widened. 

What was in the journal was more shocking than finding out Jessamine was pregnant. 

Daud talked of somebody called Billie Lurk, of how Overseers stormed their hideout, and how Billie Lurk betrayed him. Daud wrote of his thoughts while sparing Billie, how he secretly wished for her to find a life beyond Dunwall. He seemed so…human. Daud wasn’t the Knife of Dunwall, or an assassin, he was just a man, a man capable of emotions and thoughts just like Corvo.

Corvo’s throat tightened, and he read on. A name at the top of a page caught his eye. 

Delilah. 

Delilah Copperspoon, one of the Outsider’s marked, a witch. She based her operations in the covert Brigmore manor, far from sight. She had a whole coven of followers behind her, easily as dangerous as Daud’s crew. Delilah was ambitious and wanted the throne for herself, Corvo read with growing trepidation. Delilah wanted to gain control of the empire…through Emily. Daud-He stopped her. He saved- 

And Corvo stopped. 

He saved Emily..? 

Corvo’s fingers started to tremble, and the words on the journal, albeit in a neat handwriting, seemed incomprehensible. 

He saved Emily? 

Delilah wanted to possess Emily, Daud stopped her, sealed the mad witch in the Void forever. 

Daud had saved Emily. He killed Jessamine, and saved Emily. 

Sweet, young Emily. 

Corvo threw the journal across the room with a hoarse cry. It was wrong. It- wasn’t true!!

Daud had saved Emily. 

It wasn’t possible. Daud-He saved her. He ripped Corvo’s one and only love away, and saved his daughter. 

Corvo didn’t know that. Daud had never mentioned anything about this before. He had pleaded for his life when Corvo stood over him dripping with murderous intent, ready to cast aside his rule against killing for once. Corvo’s blade had been dripping with Daud’s blood, and Daud begged for mercy, but he said nothing about Delilah, nothing about Emily. Corvo was furious, somehow, and he sank back into the chair burying his head into his palms. If he got up now he would probably wreck something up, so he remained seated, forcibly controlling his breaths. 

A few minutes later, when Corvo was sure he wasn’t going to rip the poor journal up, Corvo retrieved the worn book, and read on. 

Corvo didn’t have to find Daud this time. Daud ambushed him in his office mere hours after Corvo read the whole journal. 

“You read my journal.” Daud stated, his voice harsher, harder than usual. Daud folded his arms, unimpressed. 

Corvo didn’t know what to say, he nodded instead. 

“Damned black-eyed bastard.” Daud muttered under his breath. 

“You saved her.” Corvo’s voice was very still, and gave no indication to his emotions. 

Daud was silent, and he swallowed. 

“Why?” 

“Because I was paid to.” Daud sneered. “Like how I was paid to kill that beloved empress of yours.” 

Corvo’s eyes darkened. 

“Why?” He asked, more harshly, his gaze especially piercing. 

“I chose to.” Daud snarled, and Corvo’s hand curled around his blade in instinct. 

“You wanted redemption.”

Daud didn’t reply. 

There was a long silence between the two, tension hanging heavily in the air. Corvo’s hand was still resting on his blade, and both men eyed each other from the corner of their eyes across the room. 

“…Thank you.” Corvo said softly. 

Daud’s eyes snapped to Corvo with sudden alarm, and he swallowed once more. Corvo’s eyes weren’t broken like the last time Daud saw him. They still held hints of anger and sadness, yes, but there was also sincerity, something Daud didn’t want to see at all. 

“I don’t want your thanks.” Daud replied. I don’t deserve your thanks, he wanted to say, but the words were caught in his throat. Corvo can’t thank him, he can’t. Daud didn’t want to be thanked. He wanted to be punished. Part of him wanted to die at Corvo’s hand. He had taunted him, gave him every chance to kill him…but Corvo spared him every time. 

There was another silence. 

“I also read about how amused you were watching me perform my duties with a flower crown. The page has been burnt with malicious intent.” There was faint amusement in Corvo’s words. 

“Bastard.” Daud said, but there was no heat in his voice. 

Daud held his hand out, and Corvo passed on the journal without a word. Daud left, and Corvo resisted the urge to look back.


	4. Bloody Bolt

No more incidents followed after that, and Daud grew increasingly bored of tormenting Aedan. Thomas often gave him knowing smiles during mealtimes, and Daud had to fight the temptation to smack the boy in the head, and give him amnesia. Permanent amnesia. Cleon was bored with the lack of excitement, and had started to actually voluntarily train the novices. As for Yuri, the boy was still clingy as always. He continued stalking Daud, and Daud gave up trying to tell him off. 

Steven…he was the same as always. 

Another month passed, and soon Daud found himself yelling at the novices for the fifth time in an hour while training them. There was a reason training the novices had become a punishment. The novices could be real idiots sometimes, or most of the time. Watching novices perform asinine things like trying to block a sword with their bare hands or accidentally stabbing themselves with a bolt from their wristbow was absolutely infuriating, and Daud was simply too tired to deal with their pathetically clumsy attempts at holding a sword.

“Guess he really is pregnant.” The whispered remark made Daud snap, and Aedan was punished with latrine duty and training the novices for two whole months. 

“He’s probably in need of his little therapy session with Attano.” Cleon then muttered to Steven, and Steven nodded in agreement. 

Both of them were punished too. 

Meanwhile, in Dunwall palace, Emily had yet to get over her fascination with flower crowns. She had once again demanded Corvo to wear a flower crown around the palace. He liked to see her smile, but this was too much. How was he supposed to intimidate the soldiers and nobles with his very presence when white soft flowers decorated his head? Corvo had glared at anyone who dared to laugh throughout the day, even though snickering still followed behind him wherever he went. Geoff Curnow seemed bent on pretending it didn’t even exist, although his eyes lingered on the flowers when he thought Corvo wasn’t noticing. 

His day turned worse when he found the blue-cladded whaler in his office. Thomas glanced at the flower crown, and Corvo imagined he must be smirking under the mask. 

“If you tell Daud, you can forget about waking up to see the sun rise because you won’t _see_ again.” 

Thomas nodded quite vigorously, and Corvo plucked off the flower crown. He had no heart to destroy it, because Emily made it, but he didn’t want to actually wear it. 

“Why are you here?” 

“My master misses you.” 

Corvo’s expression turned dark. 

“I will feed you to the hagfishes.” 

Thomas tilted his head to the side, unaffected. 

“My master often says that. I take it as a compliment, Lord Attano.” Thomas bowed, and Corvo had to resist the urge to actually go through with the plan. Perhaps he’ll even invite Daud along to watch Thomas being devoured by the feisty creatures. 

“He’s been…temperamental as of late. He seems more balanced when you…” Thomas trailed off. 

“That’s not my problem, is it? Pregnancy is hard to deal with.” 

Thomas snickered before he could help it, and Corvo immediately knew that it was not something Thomas didn’t want Daud seeing, as Thomas quickly composed himself. Then Thomas grew confused. 

“Wait, how did you know about tha-” 

A timely knock on the door ended their conversation, and Thomas disappeared. 

Throughout the day, the words Thomas said continued to hang in Corvo’s mind. There were making unbearable questions that Corvo wanted to keep buried surface once more. 

Questions like did he hate Daud, or how he actually felt about the man. 

Corvo was very unsettled to find that he didn’t have answers himself. 

Daud was clearly very skilled. He was unpredictable, astute, and he had a deadly ferocity that could easily beat any of the guards, even without the Outsider’s powers. 

Sparring with the other guards had been…frustrating at best. They just weren’t good enough, even when they outnumbered Corvo five to one. They didn’t have supernatural powers, nor did they have the number of years of training he had. Corvo could beat them ten times over with his eyes closed. In those situations, Corvo had often found himself yearning (not for the first time), that he’d rather be fighting Daud. He tried not to think about how his heart pounded when Daud struck again and again, tried not to remember how loose his muscles felt after the fight, how good it felt. 

Corvo relented a few days later, when pent up stress crackled within his bones as he was cleaning his sword and thinking about his past fights with Daud. He then found himself perched at Daud’s window, wondering how he got himself in this situation.

Daud was surprised to see him, but obliged when Corvo came for him with his sword. 

When Corvo had Daud pinned beneath him, Corvo looked up and saw that the audience above had doubled once more. Corvo and Daud didn’t attack each other with bolts, guns or mines this time. It was just a simple spar. 

“I can sense you laughing Aedan, your punishment has just been lengthened to three months.” Daud called, while held beneath Corvo. 

“It wasn’t me!” Aedan protested. 

Corvo got off Daud. Daud’s eyes held challenge in them, and Corvo raised his sword at him again, daring Daud to come for him. 

This fight was bloody, and Daud had sunk a bolt deep into Corvo’s shoulder. Daud had numerous cuts all over him after barely blinking away from a spring razor, so he wasn’t any better. Only this time, it was Corvo pinned under Daud. 

Daud released him, and watched the bodyguard get back on his feet. Corvo didn’t make any sound of pain, but the number of blood patches staining his coat made it clear that Corvo was quite hurt. The patch of blood at his shoulder was especially big, and Corvo flinched a little when he got up. 

Corvo bit down hard as he pulled out the bolt, while Daud carefully observed him from the side. Thomas once again came to offer both of them a health elixir each, which both accepted gratefully. Corvo nodded once at Daud, before leaving for Dunwall tower. 

The next morning, Daud found Corvo in the gardens of Dunwall tower.

“I have to increase security. Guard against bastards like you.” Corvo frowned, after looking around to make sure no guards were around. 

“I could get in here blindfolded and handcuffed.” 

“Let’s put that to the test, shall we?” There was a glint in Corvo’s eyes that made Daud shiver. 

“Is your shoulder fine?” Daud asked instead. Corvo’s clean coat held no traces of blood, but Daud was sure the wound underneath was burning bright with pain. 

Corvo gave him a long, hard look. 

“…It’s fine.” 

“Good.” 

There was an awkward silence. Daud nodded once, and then blinked. 

The next time they fought was a week later. Daud emerged victorious, and Corvo had been very displeased. Corvo beat him in the next week, the week after that, and two weeks more. Then Daud had the audacity to break his streak in the following week. 

Their fights became more regular, and Daud was starting to hate the way he actually anticipated the Lord Protector’s visits. He knew that he glanced out every so often when Corvo was expected to come, and knew that Thomas gave him innocent smiles behind the mask when he caught Daud in the act. 

“Where’s Aedan and Steven?” Corvo asked once, after a battle as he scanned the audience above them that he had gotten quickly used to. 

Daud was about to ask how Corvo could recognise his whalers; they all mostly wore the same uniform after all. How did he know their names anyway? But Daud decided he didn’t quite want to know. 

“Aedan and Steven?” Daud questioned. 

Corvo nodded. 

“They’ve been punished for an indeterminate amount of time.” Daud droned. “Why?” 

Corvo shrugged, and raised his sword for a second round. Daud didn’t hesitate, and they sparred until they were too exhausted to do anything else.


	5. A Grudge

Corvo didn’t return to the Flooded District after that fight until almost a month later, his hair tousled and a troubled expression on his face. 

“Attano.” Daud greeted evenly. 

Corvo looked away. His fingers were pressed against his sword, an action Daud knew Corvo did out of anxiety. 

“What’s troubling you?” 

Corvo didn’t immediately say anything upon seeing Daud. He opened his mouth and closed it again, and Daud knew it had to be something serious.

“Somebody attacked Emily.” Corvo’s hand shook. “I…” He trailed off. _Need your help,_ Daud read off his face. Corvo’s eyes, although not trained on Daud, had a pleading look in them, and his lips were quivering with the unsaid plea. 

“I can pay you.” Corvo said, his eyes finally meeting Daud’s. Corvo licked his dry lips.

Daud shook his head without thinking. 

“I don’t need the money.” Daud said, when Corvo gave him a disbelieving stare. 

“What happened, exactly?” Daud sat down and urged the Lord Protector to do the same. 

“It was the middle of the night, during a patrol. I heard…a scream.” 

Daud nodded, waiting for Corvo to continue. 

“There were rats everywhere in her room. I stopped time, pulled Emily out.” 

“She’s fine, Corvo.” Daud felt the urge to say, when the Lord Protector slouched a little in front of him. 

“If-”

“She’s fine.” Daud repeated, his tone even. 

Corvo’s lips tightened into a line, and he clenched and unclenched his fists. Then Daud noticed the dark eye bags below the man’s eyes, the pale complexion on the Lord Protector’s face. It was almost similar to the look on Corvo’s face when Daud had first found him poisoned and weak. 

Daud filled in the rest of the story himself. Knowing Corvo, the man must have patrolled the whole tower day and night since, refusing to trust the guards. Daud thought of the man who escaped prison, retrieved his belongings from the bottom of a weeper-infested refinery, duelled him, spared him, and then rescued Emily by the end of the day. Daud knew how deep Corvo’s dedication to the young Empress was, knew the lengths Corvo would go to to ascertain her safety. It must have been the same for Jessamine, and then Daud halted his thoughts right there. 

His marked hand was clenched at his side, and he forcibly released it. 

“Rats…Sounds like Granny Rags.” 

“You knew her?” 

“Never met the witch. I knew her through the…recipes she left throughout Dunwall.”

There was an unsaid question on Corvo’s face. 

“It was for runes.” 

Corvo didn’t question further.

“We last tracked her heading to the sewers, and then she disappeared.” 

“I met her in the sewers.” Corvo paused. “…She was going to…cook…Slackjaw.” 

“Cook?” 

“Cook.” Corvo nodded in affirmation. 

“Cook.” Daud repeated, as though repeating it would somehow shed new meaning into the word. Daud shook his head, sighing. 

“She had always been insane.” 

“Did you help her?” 

Corvo shot Daud an unimpressed look. 

“What did you do then?” Daud asked. 

“Refuse, of course. I burnt her cameo, choked her out…and left.” 

“You left her alive.” 

Corvo nodded, like what he did made perfect sense. 

“She’s a witch. And now she has a grudge on you.” Daud wanted to curse Corvo’s stubbornness against killing for once. “You should have cooked her yourself.” 

Corvo actually looked horrified at Daud’s suggestion. 

“Can you find her?” Corvo’s voice was urgent, much different from the stoic, cold voice Daud heard from the many meetings in Dunwall tower where he had spied on Corvo.

Daud thought about it. Granny Rags was hard to track. Even his own whalers, while trained in the art of stealth, could never quite pinpoint her exact location, much less what she was planning. But Daud hadn’t cared, he had no reason to. As long as Granny Rag’s twisted rituals for the Outsider did not interfere with Daud’s own plans, he had no reason to fight her. 

“I will pay you.” 

Corvo mistook Daud’s silence as hesitation, and Daud was indeed, quite offended by that. He didn’t need money from Corvo. He didn’t want the damned coin. He had already destroyed enough of the Lord Protector’s life, destroyed enough of the city, and no amount of coin was going to repair that. 

“I don’t want your money.” Daud growled. Corvo was visibly confused, and Daud ignored the man. 

Daud let his mark flare, and Thomas emerged just seconds after. 

“…Master.” Thomas bowed to Daud, nodded slightly at Corvo, although the bodyguard wasn’t paying attention. 

“Tell Aedan to gather some men and scour the city. Steven, Javier and Devon, send them to Dunwall tower, keep an eye on the Empress at all times.” 

Corvo’s eyes snapped up at ‘the Empress’. Thomas bowed again, and vanished to give out the orders. 

“No-” He started to protest. 

“Surely you won’t reject some extra eyes. They won’t be seen, and if they are, they’re on their own.” 

Corvo’s glance at Daud hardened, and then he resigned to nodding after a long pause.

“You need to rest, Lord Protector.” 

Corvo shook his head in a mechanical motion, an automated response. 

“ _Corvo._ ” Something in Daud’s voice made Corvo look up. Daud hardly called Corvo by his first name, although pretty much everyone else did so. Even if he did, it was always in a mocking tone. 

Daud noticed the unrelenting stubbornness in the Lord Protector’s eyes, and sighed a little. Without warning, Daud raised his left arm, and shot a sleep dart at the Lord Protector right in the neck. 

“Daud.” Corvo’s voice was reproachful, dipped in betrayal. Corvo’s hand raised to pull out the dart, but it was empty, the drug already flooding the bodyguard’s system. Corvo’s eyebrows furrowed, and Daud saw Corvo’s face strain, as he tried to fight the drug. 

In Corvo’s best state, he could probably fight it, delay the effects at least. But Daud knew Corvo’s limits, from all the times they had sparred with each other. And Daud had seen the weary look on Corvo’s face, how he closed his eyes in some moments during their conversation when he thought Daud wasn’t watching. Corvo was absolutely exhausted. 

Corvo stumbled back, mumbling something, and then toppled over. The older assassin had no problem catching Corvo, or lifting him to be put on Daud’s bed upstairs. 

The bodyguard looked relaxed for once, and Daud found his gaze lingering on Corvo’s serene form for a second longer than it should, before he forcibly turned his head away. He had never seen Corvo this relaxed before. Corvo was always guarded around him, and very tense.

He returned downstairs to speak with his other whalers, who did not question the presence of Corvo’s prone form upstairs.


	6. A Hint

When Corvo awoke, it was late afternoon, and the bodyguard let out a frustrated growl. He rubbed his eyes a little, and pushed himself up. Corvo turned a little. He was in Daud’s bed. The thought of that sent a wash of shame through him, and he grimaced at the memory of being so out of it that Daud could shoot him with a sleep dart. That was part of the reason of getting caught off guard, being exhausted, but Corvo refused to admit that he had also been feeling unusually calm, (and if he dared say, secure) around Daud as of late. 

Then a bolt of alarm made Corvo give out a haggard cry. 

Emily! 

A rush of adrenaline wiped away any remnants of aches and pain. He had left Emily alone.

Corvo clenched his fists, a piercing, desolate feeling creeping into his heart. 

His mark flared to life, shining a vibrant green and blue. 

A light tap on his shoulder made Corvo spin around, his sword out before he could help it. 

Daud didn’t react, and merely took a small step back away from the sword blade, now pointed to his neck. 

Corvo grimaced, and he folded his sword. 

“You bastard.” Corvo growled, after a silence. 

“Are you feeling better?” Daud asked in a casual tone. 

Corvo huffed and his mark lit up once more, as Corvo turned to face the window. 

“You need to rest.” Daud urged, pulling Corvo back. 

Corvo shook his head. 

“I left her alone.” 

“My whalers are watching her. And your dear empress has already been informed of your…absence. You have nothing to fear.” 

“You need to rest. You can't protect her like this.” Daud continued. Corvo was still tense, and Daud knew he hadn’t convinced him yet. 

“You couldn’t even dodge the sleep dart.” 

That caught Corvo’s attention, and his narrowing glare was intense. 

“That was-”

“It was not an accident, and it is a fault of your lack of attention, Lord Protector. You cannot protect Emily in this state, much less yourself.” Daud barked. 

Corvo’s glare remained, and he was still stubborn. 

Then Daud kicked his legs from under him, and pinned him down. Daud pressed the tip of his wristbow to Corvo’s exposed neck, saw him swallow as he bucked under Daud’s weight. 

“Get off me.” Corvo’s voice was rough as sand, as commanding as a Lord Protector could be. 

Daud was not one to be intimidated, and he pressed the bolt tip harder into the bodyguard’s neck in response, not enough to truly hurt him of course. 

“Have I proven my point, or would you like to get shot with a couple more sleep darts?” 

Daud watched Corvo swallow a few more times, his eyes never leaving Daud’s. Daud returned the gaze calmly, even though he could feel a thread of irritation towards the bodyguard. He was just seconds away from shooting Corvo unconscious again.

A few moments passed. 

Corvo’s gaze faltered. 

“How many whalers do you have there?” 

“Right now? Five of them.” 

“Let me up.” 

Daud did get off Corvo, but he continued to watch Corvo carefully for the first sign of his mark flaring, or any hasty escape attempts. Daud was confident he could catch Corvo, but he didn’t want to hurt him unnecessarily and expend energy. 

Corvo didn’t get up immediately, which confirmed Daud’s suspicions that Corvo was still terribly exhausted. 

“Get some rest. We’ll talk again later.” 

Corvo nodded as he pushed himself up, and said nothing else. Daud turned away. That was that, he concluded, and he left, leaving Corvo upstairs. 

He had a shrine to visit, to pay a visit to a “friend”. 

Even if _he_ wasn’t inclined to help Daud, he would surely help in some way if it was relating to his new favourite marked. 

As he neared the shrine, he thought of the last time he had been here. It had been at least a year ago. The Outsider himself had stopped appearing to him since Corvo had spared him, and Daud was more than happy to be free of him. 

And now he actually needed the Outsider’s help…Daud grimaced. The things he would do for the Lord Protector. 

“Where is Granny Rags?” He asked curtly, at the empty shrine. 

There was no response, and Daud’s temper snapped as he aimed a vicious kick to the shrine. A string of strong, very offensive words left Daud’s mouth, and he glowered at the streaks of purple light.

“Getting soft, are we, Daud?” The Outsider greeted, just as the deity swam into view, still dressed in the familiar garbs as before. 

“Where is she?” Daud hissed. 

“That would ruin all the fun, wouldn’t it?” 

“Your dear Corvo dying would also ruin all the fun, wouldn’t it?” Daud snapped, wanting to punch the infuriating smirk off the god’s face.

“You dying would be fun, but I suppose Corvo wouldn’t like that.” The Outsider mused, but Daud didn’t catch the god’s implication behind that comment. 

“Where is she?!” 

The god sighed exaggeratedly. 

“She’s not entirely untraceable. Rats are her friends, after all.” The Outsider replied in mock impatience, before vanishing. 

Daud cursed as his surroundings came back into view, when the shadows curled around him disappeared, melting away into the wind. 

He kicked the stupid shrine once more, delighted at how one of the wooden legs was now cracked, and then left. 

How in the Void were rats going to help him? Last time he checked, following rats led to a damn swarm trying to rip all the flesh from his bones. That was of course, until he used his ‘pull’ ability and destroyed the whole mass of disgusting rodents. 

Daud blinked back to his hideout, pondering his next move. When he looked up, Corvo was asleep upstairs. So Corvo did listen to him after all. At least something was going right. Daud blinked to the rooftop to avoid waking the bodyguard, staring out into the sky and idly observing his whalers patrolling the area. He would have to wait for his whalers to return from their search of Granny Rags. He was positive they wouldn’t find anything, but if they could find but a trace of where she might be, that would be best. 

Corvo was awake at the first sign of dawn, and there was no sign of Daud. He scanned the area with Dark Vision, pausing slightly over each whaler he saw, before he focused on one in the library, and made his way there. 

“Thomas.” Corvo greeted as he entered the room.

Thomas jumped, and he whipped his head around to see Corvo at the doorway.

“Lord Attano.” Thomas bowed. “How…did you know it was me?” 

Corvo glanced over, cocked his head to the side…and said nothing. 

“My master will return soon. He is away, finding… _rats_ …apparently.” 

“Rats?” Corvo was confused for a moment, and then he remembered Granny Rag’s birdies. Ah, rats. 

Thomas nodded. 

“Did you rest well?” Thomas asked. 

Corvo inclined his head. 

“That’s good. You seemed really tired yesterday.” Thomas hummed, before returning to his work. He looked up at a shelf seconds later, then ‘pulled’ a book towards him, flipping it open once it was in his hands.

“You share powers with Daud?” 

Thomas looked to Corvo, and nodded. 

“We share powers through the Arcane Bond.” 

“…How does it work?” 

“We don’t know exactly, but having undying loyalty towards him seems to be a prerequisite. And trust, genuine trust.” 

Another whaler, one that Corvo didn’t recognise, walked in to join Thomas, and Corvo left to look around the Flooded District while waiting for Daud to return. He was impatient to go back, Emily needed him. But Granny Rags came first. He paused at a certain intersection, staring at the broken building for a long moment. He was here before, when Daud had captured him. There had been a shrine there, abandoned and covered with dust. Was it still there? Perhaps the Outsider could help him this time. 

Corvo stepped into the small, constricted space, and saw the tell-tale signs of purple light. The shrine was like the many others he had seen before, except that there was a curious fracture in one of the bottom wooden legs, one that could have quite possibly had been made by a cruel kick to the shrine. 

He pressed a hand to the broken wood, and frowned. Why would anybody do that? Then darkness swallowed him, and shreds of shadows swirled in front of him, before revealing the young deity. 

“My dear Corvo.” 

Corvo was unfazed at the intimacy of the Outsider’s greeting, and he remained quiet. 

“You had a good rest, had you not?” The god tilted his head slightly. 

“Typically you dream of bars, of heat brands, remnants of your time in Coldridge. Strange that you had an unusually peaceful night.” 

Corvo hesitated. He didn’t remember much of his dreams, but he had awoke feeling quite well rested, so he didn’t deny that there was truth in the god’s words. 

“What does that have to do with anything?” Corvo asked instead. 

“Nothing, I thought it was worth mentioning.” The Outsider shrugged and smirked.

Corvo didn't think too hard into what the Outsider meant, his hand still pressed against the broken shrine leg.

"What happened here?" Corvo gestured to the shrine.

The Outsider was silent, before he replied, 

"Does it matter? But I assure you, the person in question has been punished appropriately."

Corvo waited for the Outsider to elaborate, but he didn't, and Corvo dropped the subject.

“Where is Granny Rags then?” 

The Outsider must have expected the question, for his smirk widened, and he floated closer to Corvo. His pale face was only inches away from Corvo’s, and he fixed Corvo with an unsettling stare. 

“I have already given my hint, dear Corvo. Your red-cladded friend is following it…quite literally, in fact.” 

Corvo swallowed a little irritation, and questioned,

“Is he really following rats?”

“He’s perched on a table right now, cursing at the mess of blood and dead rat bodies beneath him. I believe he just uttered ‘Why did I listen to the black-eyed bastard?’. He’ll lie later, blame the bloodstains on a weeper. He’ll much rather die than admit he ran right into a rat swarm after fervently chasing down a white rat. How terribly amusing.”

Corvo smiled, in spite of his worries for Emily’s safety. Following a white rat, of all things. The Outsider seemed content at eliciting that reaction from Corvo, and the shadows faded away, leaving Corvo alone at the shrine. 

The Outsider was right, of course he was. Daud returned to the base mumbling something about weepers before he changed into a new set of clothing. 

“I should return to Emily.” Corvo said, rather impatiently when he finally had Daud’s attention. 

“My men have scoured the city, but no sign of the witch. As expected of course.”

“How about using rats to track her?” Corvo suggested lightly, pretending not to see Daud’s scowl at that. 

“I don’t see how we can track rats. She controls the rats, and I doubt she would let us find her that easily.” 

“I can possess the rats.” 

Daud stopped and stared at Corvo. 

“You possess rats?” 

Corvo blinked, before he realised that Daud couldn’t have known that. He had never openly used his possession powers in front of Daud before. 

“For how long can you possess them for?” 

Corvo thought about it for a moment. 

“…Not long.” 

“Can you possess other things?” 

“I can possess people, but I have only done it once. It’s not easy.” 

“How does that work?” 

A little irritation flickered to life within Corvo. He stopped and looked over Daud. Daud had too many questions. It was easier to just demonstrate than to answer all his questions anyway. Corvo drew magic, and his mark lit up. 

“Wai-”

Daud realised what Corvo was doing a little late, and Corvo had already casted the magic. 

Corvo was now staring out from Daud’s eyes. This possession was much different. Unlike that one time that Corvo just wormed his way into another person’s mind and directed him to do anything he wanted, Daud was strong, and Corvo could feel the crushing resistance from the man. Corvo tried to step forth in Daud’s body, but he was rigid and immobile. 

Then Corvo’s vision starting swimming, and he knew his possession was going to be cut off. He was pushed out of Daud’s body seconds later, his body re-materialising in front of the wide-eyed assassin. 

“My mind is the last place you would want to be.” Daud growled in an accusing tone. 

“You wanted to know how it worked.” Corvo said, unrepentant. 

Daud glared at the other man, his heart still thumping at the bizarre feeling. Corvo had been inside him, trying to puppeteer him. It was intrusive, and frankly, nauseating, and Daud swallowed the bile starting to rise up his throat. 

But even as Daud was fighting the nausea, his mind was already whirling with ideas, formulating plans and strategies.


	7. Following the Rats

They devised a plan a few days later, during the late afternoon as the sun was starting to go down.

Corvo was the main player, and Daud was only playing a supporting role. Daud had placed numerous whalers watching Emily for the mission, but Daud knew Corvo was still unnerved, and eager to go back to protect her himself. 

They chose a road near Clavering Boulevard as the place to execute their plans. It was hidden away and far from sight, making it easier for them to do as they pleased without attracting the attention of Oveerseers or guardsmen. 

“Master.”

Daud turned to see Thomas behind him, hoisting a bloodied body on top of his shoulder. The smell of the blood and rotting flesh pervaded the air, but Daud was not unused to it. 

“Are you ready?” Daud asked. 

Corvo nodded, crouched on the rooftop above road. 

Daud gave the signal, and the corpse was thrown off the roof, landing smack down on the ground below. 

It was barely a minute before rats started swarming the body, a mess of grey and white bodies writhing around the disgusting body. What remained of the body was quickly devoured by the rats, torn away by sharp teeth and claws. When the sound of bones crunching and the tearing of flesh started to subside, Corvo exchanged a look with Daud. Daud nodded. 

Corvo’s mark flashed, and he was gone. 

One of the rats below stood up in a strange human fashion, and scampered away with the swarm as they scuttled off into a broken pipe. 

Daud watched until the last trace of the swarm disappeared, and he stood up. 

“We shall head back to Dunwall tower. The Lord Protector will inform us of what he finds later.” 

“Yes sir.” Thomas bowed, and transversed. 

As Daud transversed, he couldn’t shake off the unsettling feeling at the base of his stomach. He knew he had prepared Corvo as best as he could, but…What if he got trapped somewhere? The plan was simple in nature. Corvo possessed a rat and followed the swarm, hopefully, back to Granny Rags. Then Daud and Corvo could subdue her once and for all. It was the best Daud could make of the Outsider’s hint, and the only issues were Corvo’s limited mana and stamina. If he lost hold of his possession at an unfortunate time, he could quite possibly die.

As Daud neared the tower, he watched the guardsmen below patrolling the area. Security had been greatly increased under Corvo, but they were still no match for the supernatural gifts the Outsider had bestowed him. 

It was quiet, unusually so. 

The unsettling feeling was returning, at tenfold this time. Daud’s skin was prickling, the hair at the back of his neck was standing. 

Something _was_ wrong. 

He looked around, and saw no sign of the whalers he had assigned here. 

Daud cursed, blinked into the tower and lay crouched on a hanging chandelier. A maid walked past under him. 

“Where is her highness?” 

“She hasn’t come out from her quarters yet.” Another maid replied. 

“Strange.” 

The nagging feeling at Daud didn’t subside, it grew stronger. His expression hardened, and he quickly snuck into the girl’s room past the corridor. 

Emily…was nowhere to be found. 

The bed was untouched. The table was covered with drawings and crayons, seemingly untouched. Daud frowned, his fists clenched by his side. The disquieting feeling was now ringing, roaring, and he stepped in. 

Panicked squeaks made him look down. 

A few lone rats were quickly darting away, and then Daud grew cold with realisation. 

She took Emily. 

Right under his nose, she took the young Empress away. 

Daud’s fists tightened, to prevent him from smashing the table in fury and getting all of Dunwall guards to hear him. Daud scanned the room, looking for some sort of clue, and his eyes fell on the table. He moved over to hurriedly leaf through the papers. Most were drawings, either of the palace, or of Corvo. There was nothing there. 

The damned witch had taken Emily. 

Granny Rags already knew what they were planning. Had baited them into it, and he, the Knife of Dunwall, fell into her stupid trap. 

He should have known. 

Yes, he should have seen it coming. 

Daud left the room before the guards could come in to realise Emily’s disappearance, and Daud found Thomas on the rooftops with the five whalers he had assigned to watch Emily. They weren’t dead, but they were in a strange daze, or bewitched Daud supposed. 

Daud’s throat was tight, and he wondered how he was going to tell Corvo that his charge had disappeared. Corvo’s greatest and arguably, only fear, had just come true. And it happened when Corvo followed _his_ plan. 

Corvo appeared hours later, exhausted, his remedies depleted and his mana gone. 

“Corvo, I-” Daud stopped, when Corvo looked up. 

“She took her.” Corvo finished, his voice thick and laced with tightly controlled anger. 

“I’m sor-” Daud started. 

“Don’t.” Corvo’s voice lowered to a dangerous tone. 

Corvo wanted to punch somebody, but mostly, kill Granny Rags. Granny Rags had known his weakest link, and took advantage of it. It was his fault Emily got dragged into this battle. Emily was taken away from him _again_. He had allowed it to happen, _again_. 

Corvo let out a growl, deep from his chest. He stomped over to one of the pillars on the rooftop, not caring of the clattering of roof tiles. His fist struck ceramic, accompanied by a deep grunt. Broken fragments of ceramic fell to the roof, and Corvo struck again. 

His knuckles _burned_ , and red smeared over his hand and the broken pillar. 

Corvo pulled his hand back, ready to punch again, and a hand curled around his forearm, drawing him back. 

“Stop it.” Daud’s voice was commanding, and Corvo glared at him with all the ferocity he could summon. 

“Corvo.” 

The sound of his own name leaving Daud’s lips made Corvo waver, and he allowed Daud to pull him away from the pillar. 

He sat down on the rooftop when Daud asked, and let the man twist his hand over to examine his wounds. 

His knuckles were abrased, blood and ceramic dust coating the skin. It stung when Daud’s fingers swept across the wounds, but Corvo remained still. A small frown formed on Daud’s face, and he quickly washed and disinfected Corvo’s wounds. 

“Do you know where she went?” Corvo asked, his voice carefully stoic, as he watched Daud wrap a clean cloth over his hand.

“No.” Daud admitted, and Corvo swallowed a sound of frustration. 

Corvo waited impatiently for Daud to finish, and got up to his feet. 

“We’ll search her other hideouts.” Corvo said without turning back, already walking off. 

Daud blinked and watched the Lord Protector go, a little astonished. 

He had expected the man to hit him, be violent, to shout at him at the very least, but he hadn’t. Corvo had instead punched a hole in the wall, and then promptly moved on. 

This was why he respected Corvo so much, Daud was reminded once more. 

As Corvo went for Campbell, the Pendleton brothers and Burrows, Daud had always expected bloodshed. He had always waited to hear of the massacre, the murder, the killings. But there was nothing. There was only a shocked retelling of events that _nobody_ was killed. Then when Corvo had been betrayed by the Loyalists, Daud had thought, with a disturbing relief, that Corvo would finally break, and Daud could die. 

Daud had been proven wrong again. 

Now as Daud watched the man walk off, his coat swirling around his thin body, Daud wondered again if Corvo actually knew how much he had changed the world. 

“Are you coming?” Corvo’s impatience was starting to show. Daud snapped out of his thoughts, and followed the man out. 

Corvo had earned Daud’s full loyalty, and Daud silently swore that he was going to follow Corvo till the very end.


	8. Searching

Corvo and Daud went to investigate the different hideouts occupied by Granny Rags. Corvo was even more distraught than before with Emily missing. His temper was running loose, and Corvo was finding it hard to reel it back in. He knew he was pointlessly snapping at people but he couldn’t care to control himself. Even Daud was careful not to further aggravate him.  
The soft sounds of the air shifting behind him signaled that Daud was following close behind, so he didn’t bother turning around to check. He wanted to get this over and done with, and make sure Emily was _safe_. 

They first headed to hideout near the Dunwall distillery where Corvo first met Granny Rags.

Corvo blew down the door with his windblast while Daud stood to the side, avoiding the splintered wood pieces. 

They stepped in and searched the floors. Everything seemed untouched, apart from the shrine that had been dismantled. The place was clearly abandoned. Corvo frowned, and scoured the place once more. There was nothing new here, Corvo realised, the rage in him starting to boil back to life.

They went to the place near the Golden Cat next. It too, was abandoned. Corvo’s fists were now clenched at his sides, his knuckles white. He had let Emily down, under his watch. Even equipped with supernatural powers and with Daud as an ally, Emily had been kidnapped, and it was all his fault. Corvo bit his lip until a metallic taste stained his mouth. 

The next place to check would be the sewers, where Corvo last saw Granny Rags. He really hoped there would be some sort of clue there, that Granny Rags slipped up _somewhere_. 

Just the thought of Emily hurt was suffocating, heavy, and Corvo tried not to think of her white clothes being marred by red. Tried not to think of his little girl screaming and calling out for him, and he’s unable to do _anything_. But the images kept flashing, getting bloodier and darker each time until Corvo started to feel breathless and terribly helpless.

The sewers were wet and cold, the walls moist with a mix of algae and blood. Corvo trudged on. 

It was a tense silence. 

“When did you first meet Granny Rags?” 

Daud’s voice echoed off the walls, the rough tone slightly abrasive to Corvo’s ears. 

“Near the distillery.” Corvo replied curtly. 

“When you branded Campbell?” 

Corvo nodded. 

“Why did you brand him? You could have killed him.” Daud asked casually. 

Corvo paused. 

“…It seemed like the right thing to do at that point.” 

“Why?” 

Corvo turned back to scowl at the man. 

“Does it matter?” Corvo’s voice was hard, his eyes sharp. Daud froze at his tone, knowing that he had somehow upset Corvo. 

It stung Corvo a little, remembering it. He hadn’t wanted to do it. Corvo could sometimes still smell burning flesh in the air and hear Campbell screaming in pain as Corvo pressed the brand to his face. Corvo shuddered a little, his thoughts running wild. 

“I’m just curious. It seems like killing him would be the more efficient choice.” 

Corvo narrowed his eyes. Daud, _especially_ Daud, he didn’t have a right to question Corvo’s choices, not when he himself had killed so many people for coin once. 

What did Daud know about it anyway? He didn’t know that Corvo was sweating and trembling when he branded Campbell. He didn’t know that when Corvo pulled away the blade from Campbell’s neck, it felt like his arm was torn apart and set on fire, because all he wanted was for blood to stain the dratted red coat. He didn’t know about the countless dreams that made Corvo jerk awake heaving and pale, on the verge of screaming. 

Coldridge, Burrows, all that had changed him, no matter how much he tried to deny it. Darker thoughts and a disgusting lack of empathy have already taken root within his soul as did the brands and scars marring his body, but Corvo was _trying_. 

He was trying to forget, to forgive, to be patient, kind, optimistic…everything Jessamine had loved. He was trying to go back to normal. Even if he had to pretend to be, even if he had to destroy himself to hold back the sword, as long as Emily grew up well, Corvo would be satisfied. 

But really, who was he trying to convince? The choices he made were hardly mercy. He knew he had felt a certain glee when he branded Campbell, when he saw Burrows getting dragged away. He knew he was actually happy that they were suffering. Killing them was efficient, yes, but Corvo had actually taken more effort to ensure they _suffered_. Corvo’s throat went dry at the thought. He hated everyone that told him he spared them because he was kind. He wasn’t kind, he was just a sadistic callous person masquerading as some hero of justice. 

Daud’s gaze seemed expectant, and somehow, that made Corvo angry. 

“I branded him because I wanted him to suffer. To feel pain. To starve to death slowly and painfully. He deserved that!” Corvo snapped, the frustration from everything finally breaking free. “Is that what you want to hear? That I’m as evil and cruel as you?” 

Daud flinched hard at Corvo’s words.

Corvo didn’t feel guilty enough to take that back, and he soldiered on, fuming. 

The silence that followed was heavy, and it weighed down on both men hard. 

They continued onward.

“I don’t think what you did was wrong.” Daud said very carefully, saying each word slowly. 

Corvo huffed. 

“So you didn’t think killing Jessamine was wrong at the time.” Corvo retorted.

The words registered, and Daud froze right there. A sharp bolt of hurt followed, at a surprising intensity, unleashing waves of fury, guilt and regret he had locked away deep inside his heart.

He quickly remembered Corvo’s ferocity as he fought Daud back then, how Corvo came for him with genuine killing intent. 

Corvo still hated him, why did Daud expect something better? 

Whatever expression that appeared on Daud’s face made Corvo blanch. 

“I’m sor-”

“Don’t bother. You don’t mean it anyway.” Daud’s voice was thick, as he tried to hold in his temper. 

Progress in the sewers was slow, and the pipes and walkways were starting to blend together.

The tension between them grew even more. The silence felt like a snake’s fangs, ready to pounce on both men if any of them let their guard down. 

Corvo’s rage had slowly simmered away, making way for the guilt to set in. He felt absolutely awful. He wanted Emily to be safe, yes, and he admitted that the stress of being unable to protect her was getting to him, but he couldn’t believe he just took out his anger on Daud. Daud was just helping him, and Corvo had just reminded him of… _that_. Corvo twitched a little. When did he become so heartless?

Daud…was feeling absolutely awful as well. He would have usually reacted with vehemence, being short-tempered as he was, but he acknowledged that Corvo was only taking out his anger on him. The past few days hadn’t been easy after all. After Emily was attacked and then taken, Corvo would be more desperate to find Granny Rags and fix the problem. And Corvo wasn’t just on the edge because of Granny Rags. Coldridge and Burrows were piled on top of him and it was only to be expected that he snapped sooner or later. 

He thought of what Corvo had said to him at the slip of a tongue. He may have said them carelessly, but Daud knew that those very words were echoes of deeper, darker feelings that Corvo harboured. 

And that _hurt_. 

Daud knew he didn’t quite have the right to feel hurt when Corvo blatantly reminded him of Jessamine’s death, especially since it was true. He didn’t feel as bad as he should have been when he took up Jessamine’s contract. He had long thought himself numb to the sensations of the living, always thought himself to be a cold-blooded killer. He had even prided himself in being a famous assassin once, leading a group of whalers equally proficient in the blood business, thinking as though he was above this cruel dark world. 

That whole life was a mistake. Jessamine, Delilah, and Corvo have shown him that. And he was trying to change, trying to lead his whalers to something better. 

But Corvo…Did he really think himself as cruel? Evil even? 

Daud would have laughed at that as a good joke at any other occasion, but right then, he only felt a sinking sorrow for the man. 

Daud had commented a few times before that Corvo was kind, and Corvo had shot him a very strange, alarmed look, and rebutted it instantly each time. Daud had been a little surprised at his reaction, but he dismissed it as the Lord Protector trying to be humble. 

He should have paid more attention. 

He had naively thought that Corvo was genuinely getting better, through all the spars they had with each other. He had felt relieved even, that the Lord Protector was recovering, especially since Daud practically destroyed his life before. He hadn’t known Corvo felt this way. 

Didn’t Corvo realise that in being the only gentle soul in an unkind world, he had not only given hope to countless others, but brought the city back on its feet? Even Daud’s whalers had never been so laidback and relaxed since…ever. Corvo had changed Dunwall and its people. He had changed _everything_ and the man himself didn’t even know that, and even thought himself _cruel_. The city would have been worse off if Corvo killed, Daud knew that for sure. Corvo being cruel was absurd, and it was saddening that the man himself believed it, torn apart by whatever toxic concoction of emotions he had cooked within himself for months. 

“I met somebody in the past. Trimble.” The words came out before Daud even knew why he was saying them. 

“He was a nurse to Mortimer Hat, the Geezer. Trimble was using the Geezer to lead the Hatters. Forcibly keeping him alive…Using him as a test subject. Ruling over the Hatters.” Daud didn’t realise he was raising his voice. “Trimble kept him hooked to machines, threatened to poison everyone in Drapers ward if the Geezer ever died. Hat begged me to kill him, to end his suffering, but I ignored his pleas.” 

“You couldn’t have sacrificed so many lives for one person. It was a better option.” Corvo said automatically. 

“I realised our choices always matter to someone, somewhere. We all just have to live with the consequences.” Daud paused. Corvo’s face was blank, and Daud had no idea what to make of it, but continued anyway. 

“I don’t think what you did was wrong. Killing Campbell would fuel rage, anger. You would have made matters worse in the city. Same for the twins, Lady Boyle, Burrows, Havelock. You were burdened with making unkind decisions in a much unkinder world. And you think yourself cruel?” Daud couldn’t stop himself from talking. He didn’t even know why he was telling Corvo this.

Corvo was quiet, his eyes filled with something unrecognisable. The air around him seemed to grow still, and freeze solid. 

“You’re _not_ that person.” 

Corvo flinched. _No,_ that wasn’t what he wanted to hear. 

Daud was supposed to say that Corvo was evil. Bitter, heartless. That what he did was by no means _mercy_. Corvo had _wanted_ them to suffer. He could tell himself it was for Emily, for some misguided sense of honour, but he knew deep inside that he had wanted them to feel pain. 

A string, pulled taut somewhere in Corvo’s mind, snapped, letting down the floodgates that held back all the emotions Corvo had pushed aside. The pure fury that followed completely overwhelmed him and wiped away any logical thought. 

“You’re wrong!” Corvo was raising his voice to a thunderous volume, completely uncharacteristic of him, but he couldn’t care anymore with the stress exploding in his face and disintegrating any self-control. 

Daud’s eyes widened, unprepared for the outburst. 

“I wanted them to pay for what they did to me. I branded Campbell so he could suffer like how he made me suffer in Coldridge. I gave off the twins to the mines so they could pay for abusing Emily. I sent Lady Boyle off in a _boat_ because I _hated_ her for supporting Burrows. I wanted Burrows to face the fury of the Dunwall citizens, to be punished in Coldridge like I was, to feel more pain than he would ever feel if I just killed him.” 

“And _you!_ You killed Jessamine. You _framed_ me. You _destroyed_ me! All that guilt inside must really eat you alive. Does it destroy you?” Corvo’s voice was raw, his eyes fierce.

“I hope it does!” Corvo screamed, his voice cracking. “Death would be too easy for you!” 

There was a long silence apart from Corvo’s panting. Corvo was still shaking, his fists clenched. Every barrier Corvo had erected to hide away the pain was now all shattered. He looked like a monstrous beast ready to desecrate everything in his path, seething. 

Daud winced a little. He clearly wasn’t good at… _comforting_ …people. He didn’t know how to. He only knew how to hurt them.

And he felt defeated. 

He should have seen the signs, he should have paid more attention to Corvo.

But he _did_ see the signs, he only ignored them. He had thought Corvo was slowly getting better, that he would pull through just like all the times he did so. Daud forgot that even a diamond could break with enough pressure. Corvo before him was broken. Why didn’t he see that? 

Corvo was an honourable man to begin with, and he had been tortured, betrayed, mistreated, before the hefty task of disposing of Dunwall’s major political figures was forced upon him. Those weren’t easy burdens to bear. All that would break his gentle spirit. Corvo must have felt so disgusted and horrified with himself when he found himself genuinely wishing pain on others, even though those same people have hurt him just the same. 

He knew Corvo was trying so hard to return back to normal, but he needed a lot of time to heal, and time was not something he had when he was tossed straight back into Dunwall after everything. 

Daud had done little, or nothing, to help him. He had just let Corvo continue to be tormented, until he finally snapped. And Daud thought he’d been _helping_ Corvo. 

Against better judgement, Daud neared him and enclosed Corvo’s wrists with his own hands. 

Corvo jumped, panic and shock in his eyes as he locked gazes with Daud. 

“You’re not that person.” Daud said very softly. 

Daud’s words seemed to physically cut Corvo, and Corvo shook his head adamantly, eyes falling away from Daud. 

“No. I like to hurt people.” Corvo’s voice was rough and shattered, and he tried to pull away from Daud. Daud only tightened his grip, and forced Corvo to stand right there and listen. 

“Corvo, you are not that person.” 

“ _No._ Sto-” Corvo was shouting now, and he continued to refuse to meet Daud’s gaze, his eyes now red. Corvo started to thrash in Daud’s grip, but Daud had his wrists in a firm vice. Corvo was losing it-no-he already lost it. 

“You are better than that.” 

“ _No! Please._ ” His cry was ragged, desperate, trying to drown out everything Daud was saying. Tears filled Corvo’s eyes, misery lining his eyebrows, and it quickly morphed into an expression of rage as the bodyguard blinked away the tears furiously. 

“Corvo.” Daud’s voice was almost a whisper now. 

Corvo’s face was now wet, tears flowing freely from his eyes. He wasn’t looking at Daud. The ground was quickly covered in droplets, and a choked sob escaped the bodyguard. He let out a feral growl as he tried to move away from Daud. 

“STOP!” Corvo practically screamed, his voice hoarse. Another sob broke free, and a flood of angry tears spilled out. 

Daud tightened his grip further as Corvo continued to try to pull away. Corvo continued to yell, struggle, shout, as Daud continued to repeat, 

“You are not that person.”

Corvo thrashed some more, a growl escaping him as he pulled against Daud. 

He _can’t-_

Even more tears streamed out. 

“Corvo, you are not that person.” Daud was gentle, Corvo didn’t understand why. 

Corvo shook his head violently, his hair flinging about and getting stuck to his face, moist with tears. 

_No…Please…Shout at me. Hit me. Hurt me. Corvo wanted to scream, wanted to beg._

But Daud just kept repeating the line, each time even more painful than the last. Corvo was losing the strength to stand, but Daud was strong, and his hands remained curled around Corvo’s wrists, forcibly holding him up. It was just like in Coldridge, when he was burnt, hit over and over, the chains never broke, and Corvo just. Couldn’t. Escape. The. _Pain._

“No, _no. Stop it._ Please…I’m horrible, awful, throw me back in Coldridge! Hurt me! I don’t deserve- I can’t-” Corvo was babbling now, his struggles starting to weaken. 

Daud had been studying Corvo for the past few minutes. He watched Corvo transition from pure fury, to misery…and right now, slowly reaching a state of empty despair. 

He did this to Corvo. 

He’s the one that _ruined_ him. 

Daud’s throat was dry. He didn’t think anything could hurt him more than Jessamine’s death, but the sight of Corvo so upset and broken down did.

He needed to fix this. 

Daud waited until Corvo ceased struggling, when his face was stained with tears and the man had completely quietened down. 

“Look at me, Corvo.” Daud’s voice was delicate. 

Corvo did look at him. His eyes were like cracked glass, hollowed out and empty. There was pure hopelessness in there.

“You are a much better man than you think you are.” 

Corvo started to shake his head, screwing his eyes shut, making a fresh trail of tears flow down his face. 

“Corvo, stop.” Daud’s voice was a little firmer, just to get Corvo’s attention, before he lowered his tone once more. 

Corvo turned away, his long hair covering whatever expression was on his face. 

“Listen to me. You’re not heartless, or evil. You feel pain because you’re _kind_ , not because you’re cruel. You wanted to save Emily, to save Dunwall, and that was why you spared them, spared _me_.” 

Daud let go of Corvo’s wrists to ease Corvo’s fingers out from the balled up fists in tender motions. Corvo’s fingers were cold, trembling, and Daud squeezed them softly, warming his hands. Corvo’s eyes fluttered open, but he was unfocused. 

“You are kindhearted, compassionate, patient, gentle. You were too stubborn to let this dratted world stop you from showing mercy to others. People look up to you and follow you because you represent hope to them. You saved so many people, Corvo.” 

_Saved me._ Daud couldn’t say. 

Daud didn’t know what motivated him to do it, it was an impulse. Daud’s hands reached out to rest against Corvo’s face. The other man flinched hard at the contact, but remained still nonetheless. Daud slowly tilted Corvo’s face back to face his. 

“So _please_ …” 

Corvo’s eyes met Daud’s. 

He looked so lost. 

“Don’t punish yourself.” Daud said very, very gently, his thumb swiping across Corvo’s jaw, almost like a caress. 

Corvo blinked, tears still rolling down. His face was blank. Daud continued watching him for a moment, before he left the man alone for a moment to compose himself, transversing off ahead. Daud himself was broken from seeing Corvo like that, and his own guilt was starting to creep back up to him. 

Corvo remained standing there, panting slightly. His eyes were sore, but tears continued to drip down. He could still feel Daud’s gentle touch on his face, the slight brush of his thumb on his cheek. 

_Don’t punish yourself._

The words rang, and Corvo thought of Burrows and Jessamine. The whole world had been _begging_ him to lay waste to everything. The betrayals, the plague, the deaths, the horrifying lack of kindness, the cruelty…everything. Even the Outsider had expected violence, and he was a _god_. 

Corvo always thought he would break under all that pressure, under the hot brands from Coldridge and the mocking insults in prison as they tried to wring the confession out from him. It would have been so easy to just…lose himself, to simply not _care_. He had wanted to kill everyone, the guards, the citizens, everyone who wronged him. 

Corvo shut his eyes. 

_You are kindhearted, compassionate, patient, gentle._ Something had lit up within him and erased all the shadows consuming him when Daud said that. 

Corvo opened his eyes, the weight on his shoulders lightening. 

He never truly knew what kept him from killing. Perhaps it was love for Jessamine, his own stubbornness, a lingering spark of hope, his naïve desire to repair the world…or a mixture of everything. But that feeling made him feel more than a man, more than Corvo Attano the Lord Protector. It let him endure the scorching burns, the numerous beatings, the stabbing betrayals, the poisoning. 

It made him keep fighting. 

Corvo clenched his fists, ignoring the slight pain radiating from his hand. He let the same feeling soak in, a newfound energy crackling beneath his skin. 

He was going to get Emily back. 

Ahead of Corvo, somewhere in the sewer walkway, Daud was drowning in his own misery. When Corvo finally caught up beside him, he was sitting down on the walkway, uncaring of the grime and dirt from the walls. Corvo settled down beside him, quiet. 

“I’m sorry.” His voice was a little hoarse, but it had returned to the original velvety rich voice Daud was used to hearing. 

“Don’t apologise.” Daud immediately responded. He didn’t want to hear any apology. He was the one that turned Corvo into that mess. He didn’t deserve to be apologised to. 

Corvo continued to sit there, unmoving. 

There was a silence, but it was warm and comforting. 

“You’re punishing yourself too.” Corvo suddenly said, his voice firm. 

Daud studied Corvo for a moment, before looking away. Corvo’s eyes had regained the usual aura of calmness, and had the same stubbornness Daud was so used to seeing by now. What was different was the slight flicker of renewed determination in Corvo’s eyes.

“…You should stop.” 

Corvo could see Daud about to protest, but the man swallowed instead, and turned away from Corvo.

Another silence settled upon both men. 

“We should continue.” Daud finally said, preparing to get back to the search. 

Corvo placed a hand on Daud’s shoulder, drawing him back. 

“Daud, I-” A bit of Corvo’s nerve faded away as Daud’s grey eyes settled on Corvo. 

Corvo swallowed. 

“Thank you.” 

Corvo hoped Daud couldn’t feel his hand tightening a little over Daud’s shoulder. 

“Don’t thank me.” Daud replied, something hard on his face. 

The man had a serious aversion to being thanked or apologised to, Corvo thought with some exasperation. Daud always looked a little baffled when anyone thanked or apologised to him (even more so when Corvo did it), and he always responded by either telling them off, or just giving them a very strange look. 

“Thank you anyway.” Corvo repeated, his lips tilted upwards to just barely form a smile. Daud just blankly stared back. 

They continued to make their way through the sewers in a more comfortable silence. 

The stocks that previously held Slackjaw was bent, rusted, and the huge pot in the centre of a mess of bones was still there, albeit broken to shards. Corvo kicked aside one shard from the pot. He was _hoping_ there would be something. 

Corvo frowned, and looked up at Daud with obvious worry and fear written on his face. 

Daud swallowed and looked away, because the sight of Corvo like that was making his heart wrench in ways he couldn’t quite fathom. He wracked his brains to think of something. Anything.  
Some connection, some clue. 

Had they missed out something back in the other hideouts? No, they had searched every nook and cranny. Daud had years of experience of analysing people, digging out their secrets and tracking them down, but Granny Rags clearly existed out of that boundary. She was insane, her motivations were hard to understand, and she seemed to act in completely random ways that didn’t follow some sort of pattern that sane people had. The only thing Daud knew for certain was her obsession with the Outsider. But that hardly changed anything. People obsessed over the Outsider did a myriad of things, some unthinkably crazy even by Daud’s standards. 

She had some sort of ritual going on here in the sewers, as Corvo told him, something that well…needed a _cooked_ human being to work. Corvo stopped her, and now she wants revenge, and took away Emily. That was easy to understand, but Daud couldn’t help but think he was missing something else. 

If all she wanted was revenge, why wait for months since Corvo last foiled her plans? Why attack Emily now? Was it for practical reasons, because Sokolov’s inventions have mostly been removed, and it was easier to sneak in- no, Granny Rags didn’t seem to be one that planned ahead, she didn’t come across as cunning or strategic. 

Were they looking in the wrong direction? Did the locations of her hideouts play a part? 

Daud listed off the locations in his mind. The distillery, Golden Cat…The sewers…

They were random, the only thing they all had in common was that Corvo had met Granny Rags in all those places. 

Daud’s eyes widened. 

Granny Rags had been there… _exactly_ when Corvo had been there. 

“Had there been a hideout near the Boyle mansion?” Daud asked urgently. He might be onto something. 

Corvo blinked, and thought about it. 

“Not a hideout, but I think I found a diary of hers when I went to the party.” 

Daud saw Corvo’s eyes widen in similar realisation. 

“She’s been following me.” Corvo paled. 

“That means her next hideout would have been-”

“At the lighthouse.” Corvo finished. 

Both men looked at each other. They had their lead.


	9. The Showdown

Samuel was more than eager to help Corvo when Corvo requested for the favour. When Samuel saw Daud, recognition lit up on his face, but he tried his best not to show any apprehension. Corvo briefly greeted Samuel with a smile, and they set off to Kingsparrow island without another word. 

Kingsparrow island had been abandoned shortly after Emily was crowned. With the plague and other deep-set problems ravaging in Dunwall, they simply did not have the resources or manpower to maintain the lighthouse, and it was declared abandoned until further notice. It would therefore be a feasible hideout for Granny Rags, if Corvo and Daud were correct. 

“How’s things at the tower?” Samuel asked later at sea, breaking the silence that had been dragging on and on.

“It’s taking a while to get things back to normal, but it’s getting better.” Corvo replied. 

“Emily’s doing a fantastic job there, is what I hear. You’ve done a great job Corvo, I mean it.” 

Corvo shrugged dismissively, which confirmed Daud’s suspicions that the stupid man seriously had no idea how he had changed things in Dunwall. 

A few moments of silence passed. 

“You’re…Daud, aren’t you? Knife of Dunwall.” Samuel looked at the man in question. 

“I am.” Daud confirmed. 

Samuel turned back towards Corvo. 

“Forgive me for saying this, but when you said you had a friend coming along, he was the last person I would expect on my boat.” 

“I…” Corvo faltered. He seemed confused himself, and didn’t say anything else. Samuel returned his attention to piloting the boat, and Corvo continued looking out into the horizon.

Some more time passed, and Corvo started to doze off. Samuel casted a pitying look at the man. 

“He never changes, always pushing himself so hard.” 

Daud grunted in agreement. 

“He also finds allies in the most surprising places.” Samuel continued. “Corvo once told me that he regretted sparing you, said he should stick a knife into your gut. Strange that he’s not only spared you again, and even forgiven you.” 

“He won’t forgive me, never.” Daud’s reply was instant, and a little harsher than he intended. 

“I think Corvo has already forgiven you long ago.” 

Daud didn’t respond, and stared out into the water for the rest of the journey. 

Samuel shook Corvo awake when they arrived, and Corvo thanked him with a soft smile. 

Corvo and Daud stepped off the boat, and set off in the direction of the lighthouse. There was nobody in sight, and it was quiet apart from the footsteps of both Corvo and Daud. It was very unnerving.

There was also a strange, heavy smell in the air, almost like a mixture of blood and rotten flesh, a stench very similar to the one Corvo endured in Colridge prison. Corvo shivered, the smell bringing back other unpleasant memories Corvo would rather forget about. 

Near the fortress, Corvo spotted a few large rats. One squeaked at the sight of him, letting out a high-pitched noise that could only be described as alarm, before it scuttled away. 

Corvo sent a vicious windblast in the direction, blowing the rats off the ground and slamming them back into the surrounding walls. The metal stairs rattled at the gust and the rats fell back to the floor motionless. Daud grunted once at the sight. 

“If those _things_ are here, the witch probably is too.” 

Corvo nodded, and quickened his pace towards the lighthouse, with Daud following closely behind. 

“You were awake, weren’t you? On the boat.” Daud asked, as the two were blinking towards the abandoned lighthouse. 

Corvo made no sign to answer Daud. 

“Have-” The word left Daud before he could stop it, and he swallowed the rest of the question back. No, he couldn’t. 

Daud spent the rest of the time staring up at the lighthouse. The elevator wouldn’t be working, and there were no more whale oil supplies here. They would have to climb up to the top. 

Daud was not looking forward to going up so high above the ground. 

Then Corvo stopped at the elevator leading to the top, and turned back to actually look at Daud for the first time since getting off the boat. Corvo’s eyes were dark, mostly covered by his long hair. His mark faded into black as he faced Daud. 

“I…” Corvo looked away. 

A pause followed, with Corvo standing very still, looking down. 

“I do forgive you.” He barely whispered, before he blinked away to a higher platform to start climbing up the lighthouse. 

Daud’s eyes widened, his body momentarily unable to move as his thoughts turned blank. Corvo continued up, and he briefly looked down to see Daud just…standing there. The expression on Corvo’s face made Daud snap back, and he promptly caught up with the Lord Protector with a few blinks. 

As they made their way up, they started to hear loud squeaking, which more than confirmed their suspicion that Granny Rags was there. 

The statue of Burrows at the entrance of the penthouse was painted in blood, fresh, and still dripping. Corvo recoiled at the sight, wrinkling his nose at the metallic stench. A group of rats scampered up the stairs, and Daud watched them go in disgust. 

Corvo readied his sword and snuck upstairs, carefully muffling his footsteps. Daud followed behind. 

Granny Rags was standing in the main room, her clothes more torn than the last time Corvo saw her. Her white hair was in a mess, stray strands matted by dried blood hanging over her face.  


Strange arcane symbols were drawn all over the room in fresh blood. 

“There you are, dearie, I’ve been waiting.” Her voice was shrill and sharp, too similar to the squeaks of the mass of rats swirling around her ankles. 

“Where’s Emily?” Corvo asked, his voice unusually still. 

Granny Rags ignored Corvo, and continued. 

“I gave you birthday presents dear, and all I asked was to help me with my soup. The birdies would have liked it, oh yes they would!” 

Corvo’s gaze hardened as the arcane circles started to glow. 

“Now you’ve ruined my soup, and made my birdies sad, so sad indeed.” 

Granny Rags cackled, as though she could actually see Corvo’s glare past her blindness. 

“It is time for dinner, my birdies!” 

Granny Rags shrieked once, her cry washed away with the winds, and vanished. A swarm of rats took her place, and turned their beady eyes towards Daud and Corvo. 

Daud cursed, and _pulled_. The scream of anguish that followed was ear-piercing, and the rats turned into a bloodied pile, blood and guts splattering across the floor. Corvo glanced over at Daud, his mark shining bright. 

“You killed so many of my poor birdies, destroyed all their homes. And for that, you will pay.”

Corvo turned in the direction of her voice, but there was no sign of the witch. New rats appeared, and Daud turned them into dust easily with another ‘pull’. 

“I will punish you, tear her heart out and cook her small bones into a delicious soup.” 

A chill ran down Corvo’s spine at the threat, and his hand tightened around his blade as he continued to look for the witch. 

Daud twirled his blade once, and casted his Void Gaze in search of Granny Rags. He saw a brief outline of yellow further up, before it disappeared. Daud cursed, and bolted up the stairs.  
He forgot how high up he was above the ground, and as he ran out of the door upstairs, a strong gust of wind slammed straight into him, almost knocking him off his feet. Daud cursed, but steadied himself quickly. Corvo blinked beside him with a flash of blue. 

Shadows appeared at their feet, and the insufferable creatures arose from dark tendrils. Their eyes seemed to glow red, and they pounced on Corvo and Daud, clambering up their boots with fiery fervour. 

Corvo’s mark glowed, and a surge of pain made him release the mana he was trying to gather. His other hand instinctively reached down to his belt, and touched…nothing. Corvo cursed, glanced down briefly at his belt, at the empty hooks that used to hold the remedies needed to replenish his mana. 

He was out of remedies. 

In that second, Daud used his ‘pull’ powers and turned the swarm into guts and blood. 

A high-pitched, piercing scream from behind made Corvo freeze in his tracks. He swerved around immediately, eyes wide. 

_Emily!_

Panic sent his heartbeat skyrocketing, and Corvo found himself bolting back down the stairs before he was consciously aware of it. A piercing fear sunk deep into the pit of his stomach, numbing his fingers and making his breaths ragged. 

He made his way back down, uncaring of the way his footsteps were thunderous and unbelievably loud. His lungs started to burn, and his thoughts were racing. 

The room was empty. 

Where was Emily?! 

Corvo’s throat closed, and he looked around again, the fear pulsing through his body. Emily-

There was nothing.

No young girl in white clothes. 

No _Emily_.

Corvo bit down a choked cry, the grip on his knife tightening impossibly so until his wounded knuckles started to burn. He had to calm down. 

A sweat droplet rolled off his face and down to the floor. 

The scream was definitely Emily’s voice, the tone, the pitch… Where- 

Corvo forced himself to calm down, to breathe through his nostrils, sucking in air and letting it out. 

If it wasn’t her- 

If it was the work of Granny Rags, then-

His eyes widened. 

He’d just left Daud alone to face Granny Rags. Corvo blinked back up the stairs. 

Meanwhile, Daud had finally made his way up the stairs, up to a precarious platform that could easily spell someone’s doom. 

The wind was howling in his ears, almost more overpowering than the incessant screeching of the rats. The sky was dark, painted in a dark shades of grey and black that resembled the ashes of the dead, even though it was clear just minutes earlier. 

Despite the thickness of his clothes, the rats managed to claw their way through the thick fibers and sink sharp teeth into his flesh, drawing fresh blood that excited the rats even more.  
Granny Rags was at the edge of the hanging, her frail body standing solidly on the metal platform. 

A crackling boom reverberated in the sky, the rumble making the hairs on Daud’s body stand. Another deafening clap came, and Granny Rags cackled, her wicked laugh somehow rising above the unholy sounds that could tear the Void open. 

“It’s over.” Daud growled at her. 

“Oh, it will be, soon. After my birdies have had their feast, and we can dance like we used to.” 

It was impossibly dark now, the clouds looming over like a crowd of rampaging beasts. 

More rats flooded over the platform, and Daud took a step back as one jumped straight onto his hand, biting down into his arm. 

Daud gasped, his mark set alit, and the swarm was turned into blood with a ‘pull’. 

Daud ripped the rat off his hand, tearing off some of his flesh that the rat was stubbornly biting onto. Daud bit down on his lip at the fresh pain, and tossed the squirming rat off the lighthouse. 

He glanced up. 

Granny Rags had vanished from the edge, his eyes wide. Whe-

He twisted back. 

Smelled a putrid, rotten stench.

Saw the faint outline of a bone dagger readied just in front of his chest, ready to split his skin open. 

Daud froze, his breathing cut short. 

It was too late. 

And- 

Corvo appeared out of thin air shoving Daud aside, his blade clashing into Granny Rags’. Corvo grunted, and with a sharp twist, knocked the knife out of her frail hands. 

Daud stumbled back from the force, mild shock painting his face. Corvo’s eyes met his for a split second, just as another swarm of rats appeared, screeching aggressively. 

Corvo panted as Daud killed off the swarm and scanned for Granny Rags.

“You ruined everything. You never listened to Granny, you were never nice to my birdies. Granny was so nice, and you couldn’t be a gentleman.” Granny Rags’ voice screeched. 

More rats materialised, squeaking and charging straight for Corvo. Daud cursed, his mark flickering to life as he stumbled back towards to Corvo. 

“Such a terrible, terrible gentleman! Stole the black-eyed groom from Granny. This was where your story was supposed to end dearie, a lovely sky, new homes for my birdies everywhere.” 

As if on cue, another crack resounded, making Daud’s ears ring. 

Daud got rid of the swarm, but a new swarm of rats promptly appeared, more aggressive than before. 

“But you disappoint. You’ve made my birdies sad and you took the great leviathan from me.” 

“For that, you will _die_. My birdies will feast on your corpses. It was how it should have ended.” 

Even more rats appeared, the whole platform piled with grey bodies and sharp teeth just itching to get a taste of flesh and blood. Daud struggled to muster his magic, and Granny Rags blinked into existence in front of Corvo, her white eyes sharp and piercing. Black shadows appeared and yet more disgusting rodents poured over, swarming around Corvo. 

The rats danced around Granny Rags’ ankles, turning their unusually sharp teeth and beady eyes towards the bodyguard. Thick strands of Corvo’s hair were plastered to his face from sweat, and Daud briefly saw Corvo’s mark glow, before dying away. 

Corvo was out of mana.

There were so many rats now. The sound of their squeaking and scuttling was becoming unbearable, and Daud’s ‘pull’ could not kill all of them in one go. The rats surrounded Corvo, sinking their fangs and claws deep into every exposed part of Corvo’s skin. Corvo gasped, his arms flailing as one particular rat climbed up his back, and bit straight into Corvo’s neck, drawing blood instantly. 

Corvo cried out in pain as he tried to shake the rats off. Daud growled in response, his mark shining with the last bit of mana he had. 

He wasn’t thinking, and he only reacted. 

His blade sunk into flesh, so familiar and instinctive. The squelch of flesh, and the cracking of bones. Granny Rags screamed, an inhuman scream that split the air. Daud released his hand, the blade jammed into her heart. 

The rats cowered, flinched, and then burst into a mess of guts and blood, splattering blood over Daud’s boots. Granny Rags staggered towards Daud, her face contorted in cruelty and anger. Her trembling, wrinkled hand pulled out the knife with nothing more than a wince, and she grinned back maliciously. 

“NO! The Void shall welcome us both!” Granny Rags howled, pouncing into Daud, her fingers clawing at his face. 

Her weight hit harder than he expected, and Daud couldn’t see anything past the witch’s coat, and the repulsive blood now spurting out from the fatal stab wound. 

“No!” Daud faintly registered Corvo’s panicked cry. 

Time seemed to slow. 

Daud slid across the metal platform, his slippery hands flailing, unable to catch anything to hold onto…and then, he hit the edge, and toppled backwards. 

Gravity took hold immediately. 

He was falling, fast. The force smashed into him hard, and pure fear coursed through his body. Daud tossed Granny Rags away with a snarl, kicking the screaming witch off him. The wind drowned out Corvo’s voice, and Daud felt so many things in that second as he locked eyes with Corvo. 

This was the end. 

He thought of his life in Serkonos, in Dunwall, in his early days as an assassin. He remembered killing Jessamine, the hollow look on Corvo’s face. He recalled Billie, Delilah. Everyone, even Aedan. 

His life continued to flash through his mind. 

Corvo fighting him and sparring him. Corvo thanking him after reading his journal, asleep on his bed after Daud shot him unconscious, him breaking down in the sewers, Corvo thanking him, forgiving him. 

He’d made a _friend_ out of Corvo. The realisation made him laugh bitterly. _Corvo_ , of all people. Corvo had forgiven him, when he couldn’t even forgive himself. 

And he had saved Emily, twice. Saved the empire twice. He almost took it down once, but now he had saved it. 

And his whalers…They would be devastated, Daud realised with a sharp ache. But they would be fine, they won’t make the same mistakes Daud had. Corvo would treat them kindly, Daud had faith he would. 

Daud closed his eyes, surrendering to the wind. The wind was howling in his ears, grimly whispering of his coming demise. 

Wasn’t this enough? 

Hadn’t he _wanted_ to die? 

Wasn’t this what he had wanted? 

He had followed Corvo till the end, just as he vowed, and he’d helped the man. He had done some good, even if he realised it so late. It was the redemption he’d dreamed of. 

Wasn’t this the perfect ending? 

Corvo’s face appeared in his mind, and Daud opened his eyes. He blinked, his mouth slightly agape. 

No, this wasn’t enough. 

It would _never_ be enough. 

A choked cry escaped him, devoured greedily by the wind. He had finally found it, some peace, some happiness perhaps. After getting abducted, after getting into the blood business, after so many mistakes and failures. 

After _so_ long…So why- 

His mark flared back to life, but there was nothing he could do, not even with magic. There was nowhere to transverse to. 

No one could stop gravity. He was helpless, and he was going to _die._

Terror overwhelmed him. 

No. 

_No._

He didn’t want to die.


	10. As Things Settle Down

“Daud!” Corvo screamed out, reaching out. It was too late, and Daud was falling off the lighthouse, his body already fading away. 

Corvo reached out with his marked hand, trying to summon any kind of magic to stop the inevitable. His mark seared in response, unable to respond with Corvo’s depleted mana. His head felt as thought somebody cut his skull open, and unwilling tears were drawn out to his eyes. Pain pulsed down his arm in powerful waves but Corvo continued to try, again and again, as futile as it was.

A crushing wave of panic engulfed Corvo. It was happening _again_. Everything he had, all gone, and he can’t do _anything_. A strangled scream was caught in his throat, and the all too familiar anger and helplessness pierced right through him. 

Something broke-or clicked. It didn’t matter. 

Corvo’s mark glowed green. 

A tendril of pale emerald shot out and grasped Daud. Corvo felt the weight tug him down, and he clenched his fist even harder, nails digging into his palm. 

Corvo screamed out, his mark blistering in response, and _pulled_. 

Daud’s body came back into view, and he slammed into the ground beside Corvo, rattling the metal railings. Corvo’s lungs _burned_ as he tried to draw desperate breaths, his chest heaving. His whole body was on fire, and his head was pounding with such intensity that Corvo was finding it very hard to see anything clearly. He dropped to his knees, his muscles unable to obey him, and Corvo’s trembling fingers found the bandolier around Daud’s chest, curling around it, and tightening. 

Daud was panting, face-up, his mind still in a whirl. Every nerve in his body was tingling, and he lay on the platform gasping, still unable to register anything. His mind and body was in overdrive, and Daud couldn’t reel any control back in. Fear was still saturated in his veins, and his body was completely incapable on focusing on anything other than bare, animalistic instinct. 

Corvo’s hand pressed into his chest, the weight causing a dull ache to blossom in his ribcage as Daud’s lungs protested against the pressure, overwhelmed by the sheer need to get air into his body. The pain was nothing like the overwhelming swell that stole away conscious control, but the ache grounded him, and cemented the feeling of _a floor_ beneath his body.

_He was alive._

The thought zipped through his mind, and finally registered. 

A warm gush of relief flooded Daud in response, from his head all the way down to his toes, leaving behind a faint buzzing sensation that made any other concern irrelevant. 

“You-” Daud tried to speak, but he was still out of breath, his words giving way to ragged gasps instead. He looked into the bodyguard’s eyes, not guarded for once, and very transparent. Daud read off every emotion easily. 

Fear. Pain. Desperation. All at once. 

There were minute traces of tears lining Corvo’s eyes, and his face had turned completely white. There was also something akin to protective hidden away in his dark eyes, and Daud froze. 

It was the exact expression Daud remembered on Corvo when he stabbed Jessamine. Daud averted his gaze, feeling like he had seen something terribly private. 

Corvo still didn’t let go, tightened his grip in fact, making the pain in Daud’s ribcage more insistent. But Daud couldn’t summon any strength to pull his hand away, or enough breath to tell him off, so he gave in, and remained lying down instead. 

They stayed that way for a while, as both men tried to regain their composure. Daud was the first to stand back up, the rise and fall of his shoulders easing into a slower pace. 

“Are you okay?” Corvo finally asked, each word broken by short huffs. He was still on his knees, coat splayed open on the ground. 

Daud nodded and offered a hand to help Corvo up. 

Corvo stared at the outstretched hand for a few seconds before taking it. Corvo gave a little more weight to Daud than he intended, but Daud’s hand was steady, and Corvo was hoisted back up to his feet in a swift motion. 

His neck was still bleeding from the rat bite, and the cloth around his hand had come off. Several parts of his body were also aching, and Corvo was sure he had various bruises and small cuts scattered across his body. 

Daud opened a pouch in his belt, and pulled out another clean cloth. He urged Corvo over with a gesture, and grasped Corvo’s wrist. Corvo let his wrist go limp as he watched Daud wrap the cloth around his palm, and over his red knuckles. 

“You… _pulled._ ” Daud said. 

Corvo swallowed, his mouth turning dry.

“The Arcane bond…” Daud muttered, and Corvo peered up to meet grey eyes. 

“Like my whalers. You…” Daud stopped, confused. 

The hand wrapping the cloth also paused, and Corvo looked away, unable to tolerate Daud’s penetrating gaze at the moment. 

“I didn’t know it could work with you.” Daud finished, and the hand started to move again, bandaging Corvo’s hand and tying it up with finesse. 

Corvo remembered what Thomas told him about the Arcane Bond, his jaw hardening. He knew what that meant, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready to accept it.

The two men then made their way back down, Corvo calling out for Emily. 

A response was heard, with a furious banging against a door. 

“Corvo? Is that you?” 

Hearing that almost made Corvo collapse to the floor in relief. 

“I’ll go first.” Daud said, but Corvo was hardly listening. 

He rushed to the closed door, the very same room Emily had been held in by Havelock. 

“Emily, stand back.” Corvo shouted to her. 

He kicked down the door viciously, and he saw a blur of white before the young girl’s weight crashed into him, arms flailing around his shoulder. 

“Corvo!” 

Sobs came, and tears followed. 

Corvo hugged her tight, her small figure soothing Corvo’s wrecked thoughts. 

“I- I don’t know what happened. It was like I blacked out. I tried to call out, but I just couldn’t… I don’t know-” 

Corvo stroked her back, hands brushing through her hair. He didn’t care about anything else right now. His girl was _safe_ , alive, and that was all that mattered.

“It’s okay, you’re alright.” 

She was still a child, empress or not, and Corvo continued to hum comforting words into her ear, until Emily’s sobs died away. 

Samuel was waiting for them below, his face lightening up at the sight of Emily and Corvo. Samuel didn’t ask Corvo where Daud was, and Corvo was grateful for that. He didn’t want to know how Emily would react to that. 

The whole tower was in disarray when Corvo and Emily returned. Emily’s disappearance (and later, Corvo’s) caused a huge commotion within the City Watch, all afraid of another upheaval like Burrows. The guards were on high alert, and they were so relieved when Corvo and Emily turned up back in the tower unscathed. 

Corvo was later taken to Sokolov, and Emily demanded that the Royal Physician take a look at Corvo’s injuries. Corvo obliged reluctantly, mostly to reassure Emily. He wasn’t severely injured after all, a few days of rest would be more than enough. 

Sokolov made Corvo shed off his shirt, and he painstakingly disinfected each and every wound while Corvo awkwardly sat by the bench, silently watching Sokolov work. 

“I would ask what happened, but I figured you wouldn’t tell me.” He said, dabbing some antiseptic on his back. 

Corvo saw Sokolov’s eyes flicker to the mark on his left hand, and Corvo turned his palm around on his lap self-consciously, hiding it away from his gaze. He had forgotten his gloves in the hurry, and although Sokolov knew the mark was there, it didn’t mean Corvo would be open to letting himself be gawked at.

After Sokolov was done, Corvo put his shirt back on, thanked Sokolov, and prepared to leave. 

“Corvo, wait.” Sokolov called. 

Corvo looked back. 

“Your right hand. It’s injured too.” 

Corvo looked down at his right palm, where a cloth had been meticulously wrapped around and tied off. He then blinked slowly at it, like he had forgotten how the cloth ended up there in the first place. 

Corvo then waved his hand dismissively. 

“It’s fine.” 

Sokolov considered him for a few moments, and nodded. 

All the way back to his office, Corvo was brushing against the cloth around his right hand, feeling the rough material under the pad of his thumb, his eyes clouded over and in deep thought. 

Things took a while to return back to normal. 

Daud didn’t see Corvo for weeks, which was understandable, knowing Corvo must be painstakingly improving security and handling other matters in the tower. When Corvo showed up at the Flooded District about a month later, he was exhausted, but agreed to a spar. 

Daud had won, but Corvo had been so tired anyway it didn’t count as a real win for him. Corvo had then promptly fallen asleep in a chair as they were resting after the fight, too tired to do anything. Daud had thrown a blanket over Corvo and vacanted the room, letting the man get some well-deserved rest. 

A few days after that, a huge pile of gold mysteriously appeared on Daud’s bed. 

Daud’s first response was to glare at it, and curse in three different languages. 

_Oh, not this again._

Didn’t Daud tell him that he didn’t need to be _paid?_ Stupid, _stupid_ stubborn man. 

The pile of gold was later ‘mysteriously’ transported back into Corvo’s office. 

Days later, Daud found the gold discretely hidden away in his chest below a pile of books and other things Daud had stored inside. 

Daud had been very annoyed, and their next sparring session was spent less on the clashing of blades, but rather, the hurling of gold nuggets at the Royal Protector (Daud pointedly ignored Aedan’s stupid comment of: “Hey, it’s raining gold!”). 

Corvo hadn’t been pleased when one slammed straight into his head, and a huge bruise was left on his forehead for days as a reminder of Daud’s wrath. 

This continued back and forth, until Steven (of all people), finally had enough. 

“By the Void, you are acting like a damned child. Just _take_ the stupid gold, Daud!” Steven shoved the gold nuggets into Daud’s hands before stomping away angrily, muttering curses under his breath. Corvo nodded enthusiastically, and Daud shoved him off the ledge and into the floodwater many floors down.

Corvo imagined the Outsider must have laughed when he was wringing out his coat, right after limping out from the muddied water soaked head to toe. 

Speaking of the Outsider, the god had visited Corvo in his dreams the night after getting Emily back. 

When Corvo asked of what Granny Rags meant at the lighthouse, the Outsider only had this to say: 

“Vera Moray thrived on chaos. She obsessed over the idea that chaos was something that interested me. And try, she did. For years I’ve watched her try. She wept at the thought of my disinterest, and grieved when I stopped whispering words in her ear. Then she turned to madness for recluse, thought that if she gifted me a world broken under its own weight, I would return to her side. A last bid for attention.”

The Outsider shrugged. 

“But it didn’t work. You proved more stubborn, more tenacious than she was, re-building the empire she’d been trying to tear down to the bone. And as her beloved rats slowly disappeared with the ending of the plague, she made her last desperate attempt to prove she hadn’t failed.” 

Corvo frowned at the vagueness of the Outsider’s words, and the Outsider only smiled back peacefully. 

“There were many outcomes to your story, some violent, most tragic. There were only so very few outcomes that would have led you here my dear Corvo, and you should be proud. You’ve been very fascinating.” 

The Outsider had then pressed frigid fingers under Corvo’s chin, lifting the man’s head up until Corvo met his eyes. Corvo couldn’t quite say anything under the intensity of the Outsider’s gaze. Then he had disappeared, and Corvo woke up.

Corvo continued to visit for a spar once a week or so, but he never stayed for long, always eager to return back to Emily’s side. 

They also started to talk a bit more, usually after battles when both were exhausted to the bone. Daud would talk about the antics of his whalers, while Corvo talked about Emily. Rarely do they talk about the Outsider. Something about knowing that the Outsider was always present, always watching, did a great deal in dissuading both marked men to openly talk about the black-eyed god. 

Any animosity between the two men were mostly gone, and Corvo had no idea when a smile started to break out on his face whenever he saw Daud, and _by the Void_ , he had _no idea_ when Daud actually started to smile back.


	11. The Whalers

Although Corvo was not outgoing or responsive, the whalers seemed to enjoy his company. Thomas became quick friends with Corvo, and that had seemingly encouraged other whalers to become quite friendly towards Corvo. 

One day, Corvo started to mentor some of the whalers himself. Daud was watching the bodyguard demonstrate to the novices a simple slash with mild interest, when Aedan blinked beside him. 

“He’s a good teacher. At least he doesn’t yell off and start screaming every five minutes like another certain person I know.” 

It… _was_ …true, and Daud couldn’t even feel offended by his remark. 

“Attano’s very patient.” Daud agreed. 

Aedan then gave Daud a perplexed look. He must have expected some sarcastic remark from Daud, or at least some kind of punishment. 

“Must be the Attano effect.” Aedan murmured, still puzzled, and then Daud glowered at him. 

Aedan was then assigned to extra chores for the next two weeks. 

Steven remained indifferent towards Corvo. He never paid Corvo any more attention than he did before and remained polite and amiable as always.

Daud knew Yuri had been hostile towards Corvo at first, and everyone slowly got tired with his constant proclamations of Daud’s greatness in Corvo’s presence. Corvo didn’t seem to care, in fact, he was quite amused. As time passed, Yuri’s respect for Corvo grew, and now, the whalers were just as likely to hear Yuri exclaim about Corvo’s prowess as Daud’s abilities. 

The younger novices on the other hand, they absolutely adored Corvo. Some of the novices were children, and Corvo was undoubtedly very good with children. They were terrified of him at first, always scrambling away to hide or blinking away when Corvo’s eyes landed on any of them. Corvo had been the one to make the first step in breaching that gap. 

He was exploring around the Chamber of Commerce when he came across a group of young novices seated down in the training room, gushing over something on the floor. They were back-facing him, and none noticed his presence (or they would have darted away in alarm by then). Curious, Corvo snuck behind them, looking over. There were five of them in total, around Emily’s age, and they were huddled together, whispering.

In the small hands of one of the novices lay a river krust pearl, white and glowing. Corvo blinked at it curiously. 

Oh.

“Where did you get it?” One of the novices, a black-haired boy, asked. 

“I took out a river krust yesterday.” Another replied. There was much pride in the young novice’s voice, and Corvo was immediately reminded of Emily. 

“That’s amazing! I haven’t found a lone river krust yet. They’re always in colonies.” Yet another grumbled. 

“I saw a new colony of river krusts the other day. Master Daud took them out like nothing! He didn’t even break a sweat!” 

Corvo continued to stare at them in wonder. He had never gotten this close to any of the young novices before; they were always so terrified of him. He felt strangely like a wolfhound trying to befriend a group of timid birds. Ever since he found out Daud actually took in young children under his wing, he’d been rather curious of them, but they were too frightened of him to stay in the same room with him willingly, so Corvo never had the chance to talk to any of them. Corvo saw the novices’s glowing smiles and shining eyes, and he finally opened his mouth. 

“That’s a nice pearl you’ve got there.” 

The novices yelped all at once, a sharp cry ringing in the air, and they jumped a few feet back, two of them falling to the ground in real alarm. They paled at the sight of Corvo, and started to tremble. 

“We-We weren’t doing anything!” The black-haired novice shook his head quickly. 

“I wasn’t accusing you of anything.” Corvo raised an eyebrow. 

The black-haired novice exchanged panicked looks with his friends. 

“You like river krust pearls, don’t you?” Corvo asked. 

The novice holding the pearl shakily nodded. 

Corvo smiled a little, knelt down on the floor and opened a pouch in his belt. His fingers dug in and scooped out the fresh pearls he’d collected on the way to visit Daud. 

One of the novices, brown-haired, let out a loud coo, and Corvo’s smile widened. 

“Wh-Where did you get those??” 

“The Flooded District is full of river krusts.” Corvo explained. “I just chuck a grenade or shoot them.” 

“But they shoot acid at you! _Acid!_ ” 

“Then I have to be fast.” 

The same novice timidly stepped forth, tense, and gingerly picked one of the pearls from Corvo’s hand. 

“Do you want one?” 

The novice jerked up, eyes meeting Corvo’s for the first time. 

“Can I?!” 

Corvo nodded, and the boy immediately brightened up, nerves all forgotten.

“Oh wow! Thank you!” 

Corvo gave a pearl to each of them, and the next week, the brown-haired novice bounded to him after his spar with Daud, tugging on his sleeve. Corvo had glanced down at the boy, a little puzzled, and then Corvo noticed the four other novices discretely watching him from far corners in the room. Daud was shocked to silence, like he was watching an impossible spectacle.

“There’s- There’s a new colony at Greaves Refinery. It’s _huge._ ” He said without explanation, his eyes somewhat pleading. 

Corvo blinked at the boy, then exchanged a glance with Daud. The boy tugged on his sleeve once more, bottom lip trembling. 

“Shall we go there now?” Corvo offered. 

The boy grinned, head bobbing up and down continuously in sheer excitement. 

And so, Corvo took the children off to the Greaves Refinery (Daud was adamant on coming along to make sure none of the novices dropped off the ledge or did something stupid) to collect the pearls. Corvo’s impressive marksmenship earned a few cheers from the novices, and they bounded back happy with a new bag of fresh pearls. 

After that little adventure, the novices started to demand Corvo’s presence to show him some asinine thing or beg him to tell stories of Dunwall whenever he visited. They would whine and pester Daud about when he was coming back (which Aedan often laughed at). 

Corvo would _always_ humour the children (Daud wasn’t even sure if he could say no). 

This time, Corvo had been dragged away by Aeolos, the same brown-haired novice.

Aeolos couldn’t be more than twelve years of age, and he demanded a match with the Lord Protector. Corvo was still covered with sweat from the heated spar with Daud, but he nodded and agreed nonetheless, walking out to the platform outside the Chamber of Commerce. The other novices, a similar age to Aeolos, hung around the corners of the platform, watching the fight with glowing interest. Aedan and Cleon stood by the side, bored, obviously unethused about their job of babysitting the novices. 

Their spar was clumsy, so horribly juvenile Daud was tempted to go in and demonstrate how it should be done. But he remained inside, watching through a window. 

He could hear the faint ‘clanks’ of the wooden swords clashing into each other, and soft cheers from the kids below. Aeolos continued pounding heavy strikes to Corvo, stumbling at times, and Corvo stepped back with each strike, losing a little more ground with each step. 

Daud frowned a little. Corvo was obviously just playing along with Aeolos. 

Aeolos then growled (which honestly sounded more like a whining bark from a puppy), and charged straight for Corvo. Daud was about to roll his eyes. Even he himself had troubling throwing Corvo off balance in a fight. What was Aeolos going to do? Leave a crease on Corvo’s shirt? 

Daud then snorted when he saw Corvo topple back, falling on the floor with an ‘oof’. Cheering erupted, and then Aeolos started to scream, pumping his fists in the air. Daud gave in to rolling his eyes. 

“I’ve bested the Lord Protector!!” Aeolos started to run about, jumping up and down with sheer esctastic joy. 

Aedan and Cleon gave exaggerated congratulations, and Aeolos darted into the Chamber of Commerce. He burst into Daud’s office a minute later, out of breath, his eyes radiating joy.

“Master! Master!” He bounded to Daud, a toothy grin on his face. “I beat Lord Corvo!” 

Corvo appeared in his office in a flash of blue that very instant, eyes locking with Daud’s. Daud considered Corvo’s expression, then looked at Aeolos’s overjoyed, expectant expression, and back at Corvo’s. 

He sighed internally. _Damn this._

“Did you?” His response was half-hearted at best, but Aeolos clearly didn’t care. 

“I did! I did! I pounced on him and knocked him down! It was amazing!!” 

“I know, I saw.”

“I beat him! I really did!!” 

Aeolos grinned again, bouncing up and down. He started to recount the whole fight (with appropriate sound effects), and Daud listened, nodding at certain intervals. 

When Aeolos was finally leaving, no doubt out to repeat his story to the others, Daud looked at Corvo, who had been standing there and watching the whole thing unfold. Corvo’s eyes were shining as he looked at Aeolos go, shining with the same glow as when he looked at Emily back in the tower. 

Daud sighed, out loud this time, and Corvo looked back at him. 

“You shouldn’t spoil them.” Daud scolded, casting an accusing look at the bodyguard. 

Corvo shrugged, and then the tip of his lips quirked up. 

“You just did it too.” 

Daud shot him an unamused look, and the smirk broke free on Corvo’s face. 

Time passed, and Daud slowly grew to enjoy Corvo’s company. Unlike most of his whalers, Corvo was a good listener, and he was much smarter than he let on, well-versed in politics, history and even natural philosophy. Daud started to enjoy debating with the bodyguard about the various issues; it was something he could not do with his whalers, who were more often than not, uneducated. Corvo also had a witty sense of humour, and could sometimes make even Daud laugh at some off-handed comment or reply. 

But in that same time, Corvo grew even more popular with his whalers, and when the question “Sorry master, can we borrow Lord Attano for a moment?” was asked for the fifth time in the fifth week, Daud was trying very hard not to feel sour about it. 

His last debate with Corvo, about the merits of a crossbow as opposed to a wristbow, had been left hanging for _five weeks_ now, and Daud was just _itching_ to get some closure on it. He had been preparing well-crafted arguments for it, and now he couldn’t even have the chance to share them.

Well, admittedly, Daud had agreed every single time his whalers asked to ‘borrow’ Corvo (‘Steal’ would be a more appropriate term, especially since his whalers never _returned_ Corvo), so Daud couldn’t complain about it. 

The sixth week came, and when Corvo was pulled away by Aedan after his spar (who laughed when Daud glared at him), Daud decided he was going to take matters into his own hands. 

He took the liberty to obtain and study Corvo’s schedule the next day, and at Corvo’s next available hour (late into the night), Daud blinked to the window ledge outside Corvo’s office. 

Corvo noticed him, and he immediately looked confused. He turned back to make sure his office door was locked, before walking over to open the window for Daud to come in. 

“Daud?” He asked incredulously. 

“Corvo.” Daud returned, as he stepped into Corvo’s office. 

“What…are you doing here? Did something happen?” 

Corvo placed his hands on Daud’s shoulders, and scanned his body down, a light furrow on his face. 

Daud stilled at the touch. Corvo’s hands were much warmer than he’d thought, and the sudden breach in personal space made his thoughts slow to a complete halt. 

“Are you alright? Did you get hurt?” Corvo’s voice was urgent, and Daud watched Corvo look him down again, scanning for…Then it clicked. 

Daud pushed Corvo away, stepping back. 

“No, _no_ I’m not hurt. _Nothing_ happened.” 

Corvo looked even more puzzled. 

“Why…are you here then? It’s late.” Corvo dragged out the syllables, uncertain. 

“I just…” _wanted to talk to you._ Daud would gut himself before he let himself say those words out loud. “…wanted to surprise you.” 

A silence followed. 

“Are you busy?” Daud asked.

Corvo cast a glance at the papers on his desk. 

“…No?” 

“I said I would let you try out my wristbow, and I get to take your crossbow.” 

Corvo blinked, and a long, _embarrassed_ silence followed. 

_That had been six weeks ago._

“Uh...” Corvo looked away and folded his arms, biting on his lip hard. Heat was rising up his face, and he was thankful that the dim light shielded his face from view. He’d thought Daud had been… _hurt_ …when all the stupid man wanted was a continuation of their conversation _six weeks ago._

By the Void. 

“Of course. Sure.” Corvo finally said, snapping back up and moving over to open a drawer to take out his crossbow. 

They spent the next hour out on the rooftops shooting bolts into an abandoned house, comparing accuracy, power and other factors before Daud finally won the debate. The wristbow was _obviously_ superior. 

Since that night, Daud’s visits to Dunwall tower became a regular occurence. It was more private, more quiet too. No Aedan to input stupid comments, no Thomas to give knowing looks, and certainly no Steven who does _absolutely nothing_ , he told himself. 

There was certainly, most _definitely_ , no other reason behind it.


	12. The Culmination of Everything

It was a late morning then when Daud blinked into Corvo’s office. Corvo had started leaving the windows open for Daud, so Daud took it as a welcome sign. 

“Corvo.” Daud said when the bodyguard turned around to see him. 

“Daud.” Corvo greeted back, smiling. Corvo was in a good mood today, Daud noted in pleasant surprise.

Corvo was seated at his own table in his office, his hand holding some sort of parchment from a mountain of letters. 

“What’s that?” Daud pointed at the papers. 

Corvo’s expression showed exasperation. 

“An invitation to spend an ‘unforgettable night’ with a certain Miss White.” 

Corvo pointed at another letter in the pile. 

“That one was from an Ella Triss.” 

“And that one was an invitation to the Golden Cat.” Corvo huffed. 

“Not going to inspect the facilities?” Daud snickered. 

Corvo snorted in response, crumpling up the invitation from Miss White. 

“Why are you here? I don’t recall doing anything particularly offensive to your office.” Corvo said, turning back to face Daud. “I think.” Corvo added, with a smile. 

“Maybe I just like to see you getting swamped with indecent letters praising your pleasing physique and handsome face…among _other_ things.”

Corvo glared at the man, and used a hand to sweep all the letters away to the floor. 

A knock on the door and a “Lord Attano, sir?” made both men freeze. The door knob was already turning, and Daud cursed, glancing around with fresh alarm. 

Why couldn’t the bodyguard have a conveniently placed chandelier in his office? 

Daud scanned the room, for anything, and then, slid into the only place he could think of: under Corvo’s desk. He was pressed rather uncomfortably against the Lord Protector’s boots, his back muscles straining in the cramped position under the table. 

He heard footsteps. 

“Corvo…I-What happened here?” 

Corvo hummed a little. 

There was a pause.

“…Are all these letters from noble women?!” 

Daud wanted very badly to see what was going on, but he stilled himself, settling in this distasteful position where his field of vision consisted of only Corvo’s boots. At least his shoes were clean, Daud thought. 

“They are letters that you can take to the incinerator.” Corvo smoothly said, displeasure clear in his voice. “If you could drag the authors along, you’ll be doing Dunwall a huge favour.”  
There was a laugh. 

“Of course. It will be done.” The guard (Daud assumed) said, humour lacing his voice. 

“What did you want to speak about?” Corvo asked, his tone returning to the professional, serious tone. 

“Ah-General Tobias has asked for you to review the security measures in the courtyard. He submitted his report earlier.” 

“I’ve read it. I’ll look into the matter later.” 

“He’s also asked for you to look through the list of nominees for the royal guard.” 

There was a sound of papers being passed around. 

“..Darion?” There was faint surprise in Corvo’s voice. 

“You know him?” 

“No, but I’ve…heard of him.” 

Daud heard Corvo place the papers down on the table and a shuffling of footsteps. 

Daud’s back started to ache, and he jabbed Corvo’s legs back in impatience, wanting him to end the conversation immediately. 

“Anyway, how’s your squad doing?” Daud could hear the smile in Corvo’s voice, and he cursed inwardly. Stupid Corvo. 

“They’re doing great. I should say that they’ve been exceptionally motivated ever since you last visited.” 

“That’s good.”

“Some of the Captains have since started using you as a threat to intimidate their men.” The guard was amused. 

“Is that so?” 

“Absolutely. The guardsmen have made a habit of snapping to attention whenever your name is mentioned.” 

Corvo hummed his approval. 

There was a silence. Daud still hadn’t heard the door closing, so the guard must still be there. The pain in his back was now absolutely unbearable. 

Daud hit Corvo again, this time much harder. 

“The weather’s good today.” Corvo stated, his voice very amused. Daud was going to burn this man alive later. 

“It is. We’ve planned to drink some whiskey in the evening. Would you like to join us?” 

“And terrorise the men with my very presence? How could I miss that opportunity?” Corvo joked. 

“You never change, do you, Corvo?” The guard laughed. 

The conversation continued over what seemed like an eternity, and Daud’s legs were long numb when he finally heard footsteps, and the door opening. 

The door closed shut. 

Then Corvo stood up. 

Daud squeezed out from under the table, and saw Corvo leaning against a wall, still so amused. Daud hissed at the pain in the back, and stretched out his muscles. 

“Enjoyed yourself?” 

Daud gave the man a look, and Corvo just…burst out laughing, his whole body shaking uncontrollably. His laughter was light, child-like, Daud didn’t even imagine such a tone could come from the Lord Protector. 

That sheer sight made all anger evaporate from Daud, and he stood there just gaping at the man. It was the first time Daud had ever seen Corvo laugh. 

“You know, you could have just bent time.” Corvo said between laughs. 

Daud glared, even though he couldn’t quite feel angry when Corvo was this happy. 

“And you didn’t think to tell me.” Daud said flatly. 

“You seemed _really_ comfortable under the desk anyway.” Corvo smirked, and Daud punched him in the arm. 

Corvo only laughed even harder, his body hunched over and hands clutching his stomach. 

Weeks after that morning, Daud noticed Corvo was visiting less, and whenever he did, he couldn’t stay long, and always had a very tired look on his face. 

Daud later learnt that a huge party was going to be thrown in Dunwall tower, attended by nobles from Morley, Serkonos and Tyvia. Security was a logistical nightmare, the paperwork even more so, and coupled with the normal work Corvo had to do in Dunwall, Corvo was running himself ragged, burdened with too much work. 

Daud was actually surprised that Corvo even bothered to visit Daud while he was this tired. 

Corvo never asked for Daud’s help, Daud never asked to help either. But lending his assistance seemed…natural. Daud didn’t like seeing Corvo so sleep-deprived and exhausted; Corvo smiled little and talked even less when that happened. 

So one day, Corvo started to find papers with information about corrupted nobles or blackmail in his office. He didn’t think much of it at first, thinking it was probably the work of one of the guards; he had so many papers to look through after all. 

As days went on, Corvo continued to find those incriminating papers on his desk, and he grew very suspicious. 

Daud denied involvement, but Corvo knew it was him. 

The thought of Daud doing so because he owed Corvo something was an uncomfortable thought, and Corvo didn’t like the idea of taking without returning, like he was some kind of god (not the Outsider) being worshipped to. 

Corvo certainly didn’t mind Daud helping, it relieved some of his workload and let him focus on planning the party. But Corvo wanted Daud to be compensated in some way for his help. It didn’t feel right to just accept his help, when Daud and his men obviously took time and effort to collect the information. 

The next time he went to visit Daud, he decided to put an end to this. 

“How much does it cost for you to work for me?” 

Corvo saw Daud freeze, before composing himself. 

“You can’t afford me.” Daud said. 

Corvo raised his eyebrows. A stupid remark. He was absurdly rich (transferred over from Burrows’s past stockpiles), and that was common knowledge among the people. 

“And I don’t work solely for anyone.” 

Corvo wanted to smack the man, because he was obviously lying. Some of the whalers have helpfully told him that Daud hadn’t been working at all, and he only started recently, exclusively for Corvo. 

Corvo considered Daud for a few seconds, biting on the inside of his cheek. He asked again, 

“How much?” 

Daud sighed. 

“A hundred coin for every piece of information you want, two hundred for some.” 

“I’ll pay you.” 

“Like I sai-”

Corvo ignored his protests. 

“I have a few names, can you help me?” 

Daud glared at him for a few long seconds, before he nodded. 

“You can pass the money to Thomas – Don’t give it to Aedan.”

Corvo nodded, satisfied, pulling out a note with the names written on it and handing it over to Daud. Daud took it with a grunt, and went back to his desk to get to work. 

Corvo, now pleased, prepared to leave, opening the glass door to Daud’s office and stepping outside. 

When he was in the corridor outside Daud’s office, he faintly heard a muffled voice from Daud’s office. 

“Sir, you undercharged him.” 

There was a sharp noise of pain, like somebody had been knocked quite viciously on the head, and Corvo snorted, shook his head in disbelief, before he left for the tower. 

Daud tried not to be irritated when Corvo’s payments gradually increased (minutely over the weeks, as though Daud won’t notice), until his payments matched with what Daud actually charged for his services. He didn’t want money to motivate him into providing assistance. He was doing it because he wanted to, partially because of his lingering guilt, and also because of other reasons he…didn’t want to consider closely.

After the party ended, Corvo stopped giving Daud work, returning back to handling Dunwall’s security matters on his own. That was until Thomas and Aedan pointedly told him that Daud was _extremely bored_ , and that some work would be appreciated since Daud had been rejecting and ignoring job offers from any other noble, and they were living off whatever remained in Daud’s treasury. 

The whalers didn’t mind their new jobscope, in fact, Daud could safely say they rather enjoyed laughing at some hilarious secret they uncovered from the nobles. Daud himself was feeling a new energy within him he hadn’t felt for a very long time. Starting to work again and exercising his skills was…enjoyable. Thomas had admitted to him once privately that he was happy that Daud had finally stopped moping around and started having some purpose in his steps. 

Time didn’t feel torturous and unforgiving anymore, and Daud slowly found that his thoughts lingered less on his past mistakes, and instead, in the future. Corvo caught on to Daud’s change in mood very quickly, and found that he rather liked the new silver hue to Daud’s eyes as opposed to the dull grey ones as before. 

All that changed when one particular sparring session came along. Corvo and Daud were seated down, sipping on health elixirs after another heated fight. 

Corvo’s hair was drenched, his face covered with sweat, and he had irritably shed off his long coat and vest from the heat after grumbling about “the ludicrous number of layers he had to wear in court”. Corvo was only wearing a thin, long-sleeved white shirt now, and it was plastered to his back, outlining the slender silhouette of the bodyguard. Daud was trying not to stare, but his eyes were drawn to Corvo’s form. His chest and shoulders were rising with each breath, and Daud could quite clearly see the play of muscles beneath his shirt. 

“The sunset view on top of Kaldwin’s bridge is exceptional.” 

Daud pulled his eyes away from Corvo’s…body…to meet his eyes. 

“Is it?” Daud blinked at him. 

A sunset view? 

Kaldwin’s bridge?

Corvo nodded quite eagerly, fixing Daud with a very peculiar stare. 

What?

A few seconds passed, with Corvo still staring at Daud. What did he expect Daud to say? Daud blinked again, unsettled by Corvo’s gaze. 

Was there some kind of message he missed? Some hidden secret? 

He studied Corvo’s eyes, but he couldn’t seem to decode the strange emotion in the brown orbs staring back at him. 

“Uh…that’s…nice.” Daud responded lamely, as the silence dragged on.

Daud heard a faint “really?!” from Aedan upstairs, before a sharp hiss of pain (most likely Thomas smacking Aedan). Daud scowled a little, and vowed to punish Aedan later. 

Corvo continued to look at him for a few seconds, and then returned his attention back to the health elixir. 

It wasn’t until suffering two weeks of Corvo’s exceptionally violent and bruising fights did Daud even had a clue of what the man wanted. 

They met at the bottom of Kaldwin’s bridge the next time Corvo was free. And of course they raced to the top. Daud won, with his superior blink ability and experience. 

“You never told me why you liked coming to Dunwall tower? Tired of flooded apartments?” Corvo smirked. 

“It’s actually very amusing to find you parading around with a flower crown on your head.” Daud replied.

“Did Thomas tell you that?” 

“Thomas?” There was an edge in Daud’s voice that Corvo didn’t miss. An idea came to Corvo, and he gave in to the urge to tease Daud a little, well…a little more than usual. 

“Yes, Thomas comes by a lot.” Corvo lied.

The look that appeared on Daud’s face was something new to Corvo, and rather intriguing, although that same expression disappeared almost instantly. 

“Some of your other whalers like to visit too.” Corvo added, still watching Daud carefully. 

The expression returned, and set into Daud’s face more deeply. Corvo continued studying his face, how Daud was refusing to meet Corvo’s gaze, how Daud’s eyebrows were settling into a furrow that was quite unlike the normal furrow Daud always had on. 

“Are you jealous?” Corvo finally asked, and Daud’s eyes widened and finally met Corvo’s. 

“No.” Daud said, a bit too quickly. 

A smile took over Corvo’s face, and Daud thought silently and wretchedly, that it was something he wanted to see more often. 

Daud was seated beside him, and his elbow brushed against Corvo’s arm as he leant backwards slightly. 

They didn’t talk much after that, and simply watched the sunset together from the top of Kaldwin’s bridge. 

The sunset was indeed beautiful, and Daud felt an unfamiliar warmth in his heart when he spied at Corvo’s face illuminated orange by the falling sun. Daud didn’t appreciate the damn fluffy feelings that were taking root in his heart, he didn’t like how Corvo’s face was becoming the first thought in the morning and the last thought of the night. It was positively nauseating and Daud was determined to ignore it. 

But nothing seemingly changed after that…meeting…(was it even a date?) at Kaldwin’s bridge. Corvo continued to come by for a spar, and Daud continued to visit him in Dunwall tower. It was a nice arrangement, one that Daud was enjoying very much. 

Many months passed. 

Daud was staring out of the window on a late afternoon. The place was quieter than usual; it was Fugue feast after all, and most, if not all of his whalers were away doing things Daud would rather not think about. Daud hummed a little. He wasn’t expecting Corvo to turn up today; Corvo had been complaining weeks prior that security during Fugue was a nightmare. 

But Daud had his own ways of messing with the bodyguard. 

So when he turned behind minutes later, he wasn’t surprised to see Corvo there. 

“Your whalers banned me from my own office.” Corvo said accusingly. But he didn’t seem genuinely angry.

“I had nothing to do with that. They acted of their own accord. But…They _might_ have persuaded me for assistance. And I may or may not have agreed.” 

“You-” Corvo huffed, ready to launch into a lecture. 

“Corvo.” Daud interrupted. “We both know that you actually _do_ want to enjoy Fugue, so why not skip the pointless lying and just accept the fact that your office no longer belongs to you for…a couple hours? Or the rest of the day?” 

Corvo said nothing, although he visibly froze when Daud blatantly stated the truth right there. 

“I want to spar.” Corvo said instead, drawing his sword. 

Daud obliged. 

The familiar flurry of blows started, the rapid clashing of their swords ringing in the air. 

Corvo danced with his blade, twirling and spinning it with absolute mastery. He was agile, fast, and very skilled of course, but Daud never lost to that. He matched Corvo’s blows equally, his eyes always challenging Corvo. 

They continued to fence, until their mana ran out and they were burning with their own heat. Corvo’s hair was wet, stuck to his face in strands. He was panting heavily, and he shifted his weight between both feet in light steps. 

Then, Corvo’s lips twisted up in a small smile, his eyes energetic and face bright. A smile directed _just for Daud._

Daud’s mind went blank. 

He stepped forth, and briefly saw Corvo’s look of confusion before his lips were on Corvo’s. 

Corvo let out a muffled gasp, and a clanking sound told Daud that Corvo had dropped the sword, out of surprise probably. Daud’s eyes were closed, and he couldn’t see Corvo’s reaction, but he felt Corvo’s lips move against his and his worries melted away. 

One of Corvo’s hands cupped Daud’s chin, dragging his face up to deepen the kiss, and Daud groaned as Corvo started doing things with his tongue that was turning Daud’s mind into a foggy mess. 

They were both absolutely drenched in sweat, but neither cared as they drank each other’s heat, devouring and consuming each other. 

Corvo pulled back, and Daud’s eyes fluttered open just long enough to see a bright flush on Corvo’s face, before Corvo dove back in. 

Corvo started pressing his thigh quite distractingly in between Daud’s legs. 

“Corvo.” Daud gasped, and Corvo kissed him quiet. 

The rest was a blur. 

Corvo absolutely wrecked him, took him apart so meticulously and precisely that it left Daud unable to focus on anything but the sweet pleasure that Corvo gave him. It should be embarrassing, humiliating even, but Daud found that he didn’t care as long as it felt so good, as long as he had Corvo’s attention all to himself.

Daud’s voice was hoarse at the end when he lay panting, the bed an absolute mess. Corvo was in a similar state, pressed up against Daud’s body. Corvo ran a hand down Daud’s back, tracing some scars and the curve of his spine. Daud was too tired to care, and simply lay there. 

After a short rest, Corvo moved away, picked up his fallen clothes and got dressed. Daud did the same, and he suddenly wondered if any of the whalers heard him. He grimaced, his face turning red. 

“Damned.” Daud cursed. Corvo smiled as he guessed the direction of Daud’s thoughts. 

“They won’t care.” Corvo actually laughed. “I think. It’s Fugue.” 

Daud glared at the man. 

Corvo then pulled him over by his shirt collar and kissed him lightly. It was a soft kiss, gentle, reassuring, just like the man himself. As Corvo tried to pull away, Daud growled and gripped him more tightly, biting at Corvo’s swollen lip in retaliation. Corvo gasped but remained where he was, allowing Daud to kiss him until he was satisfied.


	13. The End

They didn’t talk about what happened in Fugue Feast. 

Things that happened in Fugue Feast _didn’t_ happen after all, although the memory of it felt very real in Daud’s mind. 

Corvo resumed his visitations, and Daud continued to find him in the tower. They sparred, talked about mindless things that happened in the day, debated sometimes, but the closest Daud got to intimate touch since Fugue Feast was when he pinned Corvo down in a spar, or if Corvo pinned him down. 

Every time that happened, Daud’s thoughts would stray. 

The feeling of Corvo’s very real body on top of him, or below him (depending on who won the spar), it was warm, heavy, alive. 

But what affected Daud the most was the sight of Corvo _after_ the spar, when Corvo’s face was covered in sweat, and the man was panting with exertion. The sight _always_ made him terribly uncomfortable. 

Days passed on, until the 18th Day of the Month of Earth. 

The death anniversary of Jessamine Kaldwin.

Or the day of Daud’s biggest failure. 

Or the day he ruined Corvo’s life. 

Daud didn’t know if Corvo would want to see him that day; he didn’t ask, or perhaps he didn’t dare to. 

Corvo had visited him the day before, and he was noticeably much quieter and solemn than usual. He only smiled a little when Aeolos and the other novices tried to cheer him up with a bag of kingsparrow feathers. Corvo hardly talked to Daud, but Daud didn’t make an effort to talk to him either. 

The magnitude of his failure was starting to collapse back on him, a deep insistent weight back on his shoulders. Daud sighed. The whalers have all pointedly left him alone since the morning. Even Aedan didn’t make any snarky or annoying remarks, remaining quiet around Daud. 

The loudspeakers were blaring with a speech made by Emily, a speech no doubt crafted by Corvo, and hearing it – and the child’s poorly concealed sorrow – just made Daud feel even worse.  
He wondered what Corvo was feeling back in the tower. He was upset too, surely. Maybe he hated Daud, maybe he was giving their…friendship…a second thought. Maybe he was furious, and just maybe he would come back for Daud’s blood later. Daud’s throat closed.

Hours passed, and there was no sign of the familiar blue coat or a collapsible sword. Most of the whalers have gone to bed, with only a few stationed outside as sentries. Daud took a few remedies, and slipped out into the night. 

He broke into a nearby flower shop, picked out a single rose, and then paused for a few seconds at the open window. Corvo certainly wouldn’t approve of stealing. Daud rummaged through his pocket, picked out a few gold coins, and left it at the counter. 

When he finally arrived at the tower, it was very late into the night. The place was mostly dark, with a group of patrolling guards walking about. Daud snuck past them easily, until he reached the pavillon where he’d…done the deed. 

Jessamine’s coffin was laid to rest there, with a plaque carved in in memory of her name. 

Daud blinked down, and paused just a few steps before it. Many roses were piled on the floor, below the plaque. Daud knelt down, laid his own rose down, and was about to get back up when- 

“I knew you would come here.” 

Daud froze at Corvo’s voice, but he didn’t turn back to look at him. He didn’t want to see Corvo’s reaction. More accurately, he didn’t want to see resentment and anger in those eyes that he had…grown to like. 

Daud got back up, still not turning back to face Corvo. 

He felt Corvo lay a hand over his shoulder, before blinking both of them to the rooftops. Daud stared down at the pavilion from the rooftops, unable to look at Corvo just yet. 

“Do you hate me?” Daud asked, back-facing Corvo. 

There was a silence. 

“I won’t blame you if you decide to change your mind about our-” 

_Friendship? Relationship?_ Daud didn’t really know. 

“I’m not angry. Not anymore.” 

“Don’t lie to me.” Daud scoffed. 

“I’m not lying.” 

Daud finally turned back, and felt a startling surge of relief when Corvo’s eyes were light, and contained no anger.

Corvo was watching him carefully, long brown hair gently flowing in the wind. He looked…sad. 

A sharp ache followed that thought. 

“You…loved her, didn’t you?” Daud’s voice broke a little. 

A pause. 

“Yes.” 

“How about now?” 

Another long pause. 

“I still do.” Corvo admitted in a soft tone. 

Daud felt an even sharper ache shoot through him.

“I’m sorry.” 

The apology slipped out before Daud was even aware of it. 

“I just- If you ever change your mind, if you ever decide to kill me someday, I won’t blame yo-” 

_“Daud.”_

Daud looked up. Corvo’s eyes were narrowed, his lips contorted into a small frown. 

“Stop it. I won’t kill you. And I’m not changing my mind. _Ever._ ” 

“If you do-”

“I won’t. Do you not trust me at all?” 

“It’s not about that.” Daud growled, getting more agitated. “I killed Jessamine, stole her daughter, hurt-”

Daud drew a breath.

“Hurt _you._ It’s only natural that yo-”

“And I’m _telling you_ that I won’t change my mind.” Corvo snapped back. “Are you not listening to me?” 

A silence followed, and Daud finally gave in to Corvo with a deep sigh. 

“I already forgive you, Daud. You have to forgive yourself.” Corvo told him softly, all the anger from before dissipating. 

Corvo sat down on the rooftop, motioned for Daud to do the same. Daud should leave, he really should. He could still remember the way Jessamine cried out for Corvo on that fateful day, the look of horror in Corvo’s eyes. He hadn’t known much about Corvo then, only that he was Serkonan just like Daud. 

If he had met Corvo under different circumstances, perhaps in a different timeline, where Daud was never abducted, Corvo was never sent to Dunwall, would they be able to talk to each other like they could now? 

If he hadn’t murdered her, would Corvo just have been another face in Dunwall? Would he have ever gotten the chance to get to know Corvo? Befriend him? … _Like_ him? 

The truth startled Daud more than it should.

If he didn’t kill her, he probably would have hated Corvo. Just another member of the nobility circle that Daud despiced. He probably would have never bothered to _even_ know him, much less talk to him. They would have never met. 

It was _because_ he killed her that he took down Delilah, got the chance to atone, save Emily. It was because of all that, that he could sit beside Corvo on the rooftop as friends. 

So Daud sat beside him, staring at the night sky in silence. Daud was tempted to shift closer to Corvo, but he didn’t know if it would be welcome or not. 

“At…Fugue Feast…” Daud said slowly, “why did you do it?” 

Corvo blinked at him, surprised. 

“You wanted to, didn’t you?” 

“Is that your only reason?” 

Corvo studied him closely. 

“You still love her, Jessamine, I mean. That’s why you kept ignoring all those letters from the noblewomen. But at Kaldwin’s bridge, Fugue Feast you- I don’t know why you did any of that.”

Corvo took a moment to understand what Daud was trying to say. 

Daud didn’t understand why Corvo did what he did even though he still had lingering feelings for Jessamine. Corvo was not a person to be unfaithful and disloyal, Daud knew that. Corvo himself never took part in a single Fugue Feast since becoming Jessamine’s lover. 

Daud didn’t know or understood what Corvo’s feelings were. 

Corvo then looked at Daud, and noticed there was something vulnerable in Daud’s eyes. A need for affirmation, some sort of assurance. 

He’s unsure. 

Corvo’s eyes softened.

He took a minute to formulate his response. 

“I do still love her. I always will. I didn’t respond to those letters because I didn’t care for them. A hundred rich noblewomen can court me for my looks or position, but it doesn’t mean a thing when I hardly know who they are. I’ll reject them a hundred times over.” 

“I don’t care about any of them. I was born into nothing, the poorest in Serkonos, and what these people care for: looks, wealth, status, they mean nothing to me. I don’t care about their gender, age, looks, power or money...those will never buy my affection.” 

“And you, you killed Jessamine, and you killed hundreds of people. But I’ve spent enough time to know that you’re not just an assassin who regrets killing. You care about your whalers, you took them in when they had no place to go. You built a family for them, taught them how to survive, gave them a home.” 

“Maybe nothing you do now can ever fix your past mistakes, maybe the rest of your life isn’t enough to atone. You hurt many people in the past, but you showed me that you were capable of changing. You saved Emily, twice now, and I know that you will spend the rest of your life helping others where you can, and I think…that’s all that matters to me.”

“You are different from Jessamine in many, many ways, but I still want to give this a chance, give myself this chance. Give _you_ this chance.” 

Daud’s eyes widened, and his mouth opened in wonder, completely shocked. 

His lips crashed into Corvo’s, one hand behind Corvo’s neck, and the other around his waist. Corvo felt every single bit of affection Daud had for him, and he returned it, just as strong and intense. 

It was not like the kiss in Fugue Feast. Fugue Feast was pure hunger, ravenous and desperate. The kiss on the rooftops on the anniversary of Jessamine’s death was slow, passionate. Daud wanted to hold on to that moment for as long as he could, and savour the way Corvo was pressed against him, the feeling of Corvo’s body against Daud’s. 

He was pushed back against the rooftops sometime later, Corvo’s fingers tugging on his clothes. 

“Not going to bother with a bed?” Daud asked in gasps.

“No. I think I’d prefer to take you apart here.” Corvo smirked. 

“Do your worst.” Daud scoffed. 

Much later into the night, Daud would regret ever having said that, hands pinned and rendered helpless, trying his best to muffle all the embarrassing noises that Corvo forced out from him with deadly precise touches. 

At the end of it, the rooftop was left with an unsightly mess, only a few paces away from the very place Corvo punched a hole in months before.

* * * * * * * * *

Things were gradually getting better in Dunwall.

Corvo found his patrols becoming shorter and shorter as problems somehow…fixed by themselves. The windows around the palace were now always closed and latched as he conducted night patrols, although he knew that they were open just hours earlier. Even attending meetings got easier. The nobles that used to resist and reject _anything_ Emily had to say were now unusually cooperative. Corvo slowly found that his free time was actually _increasing_. He wasn’t as stressed and tired as in the past. Corvo was more relaxed, and Emily delighted at Corvo’s change in mood. 

Corvo obviously knew _who_ was helping him in the background, but Daud consistently feigned ignorance, and Corvo eventually gave up telling him off. He instead resorted to paying Daud very generously and giving his thanks in the darkness when the silence of the night was broken by moans and groans. 

Corvo liked it when Daud was under him wordlessly begging, his gaze desperate, and his lips wet and tantalising. Corvo relished in the intimacy, when their connection truly shone. Corvo understood Daud without having him need to say a word, and so did Daud. But nights that ended with them lying on a bed (or a rooftop) completely spent were rare, and most of the time, they were more than content just being around each other. 

Corvo had mastered his new ability to ‘pull’, and surprised Daud once by summoning Thomas to the room. Daud had been very puzzled, and a few months later, Daud shocked the bodyguard by performing windblast. Their bond was _different, special,_ the Outsider had informed them once. 

The Flooded District was no more, it had long been restored to its prime as a Financial District through Emily’s efforts. She was still very young, and relied greatly on Corvo for advice, but she was growing, learning at a fast rate. Corvo was as proud as he could be, and he knew Jessamine would feel the same. Corvo’s staunching loyalty remained, he continued to serve as Emily’s Royal Protector, staying close by her side. But his paranoia never truly subsided, Corvo was still suspicious and wary towards the guardsmen, even with Geoff Curnow’s countless reassurances. Whatever time the bodyguard had was spent on conducting security checks or attending meetings. 

Corvo never actually found a new Spymaster. As far as the citizens were concerned, Corvo was unofficially both the Royal Protector _and_ Spymaster. Only few people knew of Daud’s interference, Emily included. 

When the young Empress first found out, she threw a great number of tantrums, pointedly ignoring Corvo for days. That was until one night, when Emily came shuffling into Corvo’s room. Corvo was still settling some security matters, and Emily just broke down crying, mumbling “why” over and over. It was the first time she had cried since becoming Empress. Corvo was heartbroken, of course he was, and he pulled Emily into a hug. With his hand gently running through Emily’s hair, and the young girl trying to stop the sobs that racked her small body, Corvo spent the night telling her softly about the Outsider, about Daud, about himself, and about Granny Rags. Emily’s arms were wrapped around Corvo, and she had listened to every word with her head buried in Corvo’s chest. Corvo had let Emily sleep with him for the night, and by morning, Emily had returned to normal, seemingly forgetting everything that was said. 

A couple of weeks passed, and Emily suddenly asked Corvo to arrange a meeting with Daud. Corvo had been concerned, but agreed under Emily’s strong insistence. 

Emily met Daud on the rooftops at Dunwall tower. Emily was trying to be brave, but she still kept a nervous step behind Corvo as she watched the red-cladded assassin. Daud had remained where he was, he didn’t approach closer or made any sudden movements. 

“Go on, Emily, I’m right here.” Corvo gently said, kneeling down to meet Emily’s gaze. 

Emily swallowed, and Corvo squeezed her hands in reassurance. 

“You’re…Daud.” Emily said, finally facing Daud. 

“I am.” 

Emily flinched at Daud’s rough and gravelly voice, but she stood her ground. 

“You…killed her.” 

Daud nodded. There was no point hiding the truth. 

“Why?” 

Daud exchanged a glance with Corvo. 

“I was paid to, by Burrows.” 

Emily frowned, her lips pursed into a thin line. 

“I regret killing her. I would take it all back if I could.” Daud said. 

“Corvo…told me so.” Emily forced out. “But you have changed, right? You’re…helping him now, right?” 

“I will do what I can.” 

“You won’t betray him, will you?” Emily asked, her voice hard. Her eyes were struggling to remain trained on Daud. 

“I won’t.” 

“Even if you were paid to?” 

“I won’t.” Daud promised. 

Daud then stepped forth, pulling out his whaler sword. Emily stiffened, and Corvo placed a hand on her shoulder. 

Daud looked at Corvo once, the man was confused, and then Daud knelt down to his knees. Corvo froze. Daud held his sword out in his palms, to Emily. 

“I swear my loyalty to you, Lady Emily, to the crown of Dunwall,” Daud looked up at Emily, “and to you, Corvo Attano, Royal Protector,” Daud nodded to Corvo.

Corvo’s eyes were wide with shock, and Daud continued. 

“I vow to remain loyal, to serve you faithfully. My blade is yours, and I will never use it unless you command me to.” Daud’s gaze was now on Corvo. His voice was quiet, and held some kind of intonation that made Corvo’s eyes widen even more. “I will not betray you, and I will be yours until I die.” 

_I will be yours until I die._

It was a long moment before anyone spoke, with Daud still kneeling down. 

Emily was the first to speak. 

“I…accept.” Emily’s voice was shaking, and Daud could see her hands trembling at the side. 

Daud chanced a look at Corvo, and found Corvo’s gaze soft, affectionately so. 

After the meeting ended, much later in the night, Daud found himself on a bed with Corvo above him. Corvo’s touch that night was more gentle than usual, his voice quieter than usual, his eyes softer than usual. Corvo was well-muscled and strong, but that night, he held Daud like something precious and delicate. They didn’t exchange any words, but Daud understood what Corvo was trying to say through his faint touches and kisses. 

Daud knew what it meant for Corvo to do that, after having his heart and soul completely shattered from Jessamine’s death, Coldridge and Burrows combined. He understood fully well how fragile Corvo truly was, and understood what it meant to be able to hold him like that. Corvo’s touches turned hard, painful even, as though warning Daud to not throw him away, to not break him, to not hurt him. Daud returned the sentiment with kisses of his own, holding Corvo close to him in his own type of reassurance and promise. 

The future was actually looking bright, and Corvo could not be happier. 

But Corvo still rarely left the tower, and never for long periods of time. The time Daud could spend with him was limited. Daud’s whalers caught wind of what was going on and solved that problem by assimilating within Dunwall’s guardsmen. Corvo had been very surprised at first to see them, but then later took advantage of the situation to train each of them, quite brutally in fact, until they each gained his approval to be enlisted in the royal guard. After that, Daud had a much easier time persuading the Lord Protector to break out of his rigid discipline to enjoy himself once in a while. 

Their next meeting was at night, on top of building near the Boyle manor. Daud didn’t know what to expect when he saw Corvo blink beside him carrying a bag of lavish food. Corvo settled down beside him, placing the bag down behind them both. 

“There was a party by the Boyles. In celebration for finding their lost sister.” Corvo explained, as he picked up a freshly baked apricot tartlet to eat. 

The wind blowing in the air was chilly, but not unpleasant. The night was peaceful, and the moon hung in the air illuminating the city with its white glow. 

“Finding her was one of the most tedious missions I have done in a while.” Daud grumbled. 

“Was that why you were unnecessarily violent towards Brisby? I hear he now has a permanent limp.” Corvo was amused. 

“Don’t forget that you slipped on a wet rooftop and almost got eaten alive by hagfishes.” 

“Says the person that ran straight into a group of river krusts. I did tell you to use your Void Gaze, damn you.” 

Daud frowned, remembering how Corvo leapt in and blinked him away from the river krusts, berating him for almost an hour as they continued their search for Brisby. On hindsight, it was actually endearing of Corvo to do that, but Daud had been terribly irritated then, and had been half-tempted to shove Corvo off the rooftops. Daud reached for an apple. 

Corvo looked at the Boyle manor and remembered the last time he was here. The whole city had been dark and bleak, save for the bright lights coming from the manor. This time was different. The manor was not the only one flaunting lanterns and lights. Corvo could see other mansions and buildings lit up in a soft glow, and Corvo felt a warmth in his heart. Dunwall was going to return back to normal. It was slowly, but surely, recovering. 

Daud’s hand, bare, brushed against Corvo’s. Corvo didn’t react, and continued eating. Corvo felt Daud’s fingers barely interlock with his own fingers, and stayed there, the tips of their fingers touching. Corvo shifting his hand closer was only natural. Daud’s fingers were calloused and rough, but warm, and Corvo tightened his grip around the man. Daud continued eating his way through the apple, while Corvo chewed on another tart. 

Fireworks burst to life at the Boyle manor, and colour filled the dark night for short seconds before dissipating. Corvo hummed at the sight, and Daud noticed the man smiling at the colours exploding in the sky.

Daud leaned towards Corvo to give him a brief kiss, before pulling away as though nothing happened. 

Corvo blinked at him for a few seconds, and then he chuckled softly, returning to watch the fireworks bring life into the night sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sadly, or happily, the journey of Corvo and Daud has come to an end. 
> 
> I would like to offer a big thank you to everyone who has been reading this story! I had a lot of fun writing this and I hope you have enjoyed the journey as much as I had while writing it. Also thank you to those that left comments and kudos. Your support was definitely appreciated, and nothing made me happier each day for the past few months than knowing that this story had brightened up your day, or made you smile in some way. 
> 
> Thank you so much! :)


	14. Extra: The Jar of Shells

Daud wasn’t hiding his agitation. Corvo and Emily had gone to Serkonos for some political visit and Daud was stuck in Dunwall. Alone. 

They were going to be gone for weeks, and although Corvo assured him that he would return back as soon as possible, Daud was still upset, petulantly so. He briefly wondered if he should have just gone to Serkonos with Corvo, but he knew that Corvo’s attention would be on Emily, and Daud himself would not hear the end of it from his whalers.

Especially Aedan. 

Daud’s relationship with Corvo had been a nice secret for months, until one particular sparring session. 

Daud had Corvo pinned under him, and the whalers above were cheering. 

But Corvo only smirked, reached up and kissed him. Daud’s mind went blank for a few seconds, and that was all Corvo needed to turn the tables and pin Daud in return. 

The whistles from the whalers were unbearable, and only confirmed Daud’s suspicions that some of them, if not all of them, knew about Daud’s relationship with Corvo. 

Aedan had been constantly harassing Daud about it now, saying stupid and very inappropriate things to him at all times. He was pretty much attached to the novices permanently now, and had double the chores than everyone else, but that didn’t deter him from constantly teasing Daud. Many of the master whalers have also cultivated a new habit of smacking Aedan in the back of the head whenever he said something dirty in front of the novices. 

“Some of them are kids!” Thomas hissed at him once. 

“Getting exposure to the real world is good!” Aedan argued. 

Cleon smacked him this time.

“Outsider’s fuc-” 

Thomas smacked him again. 

“No cursing in front of the novices!” 

“The same spot?! Really?” Aedan rubbed his head indignantly, hissing in pain. 

Daud had smirked at the sight, chuckling a little. 

Steven, Devon, Carlo and Kieron were hardly seen on the whalers’ grounds now. They spent most of the time in Dunwall with Corvo as part of the Royal Guard, and more possibly, getting punished by Corvo for inattention or lack of punctuality. 

Daud was surprised when Steven volunteered to go. He was Steven after all, content with doing nothing and more than happy just lazing around. Daud had questioned Steven then, and Steven admitted with a blush that he had wanted to be part of the Dunwall royal guard since he was a small boy. 

Devon, Carlo and Kieron were Corvo-admirers. They have grown to respect Corvo through all the visits he made to the Flooded District, and more recently, the Hound Pits Pub, their new lair. When the chance to actually work with the man showed itself, they jumped at the opportunity. 

Corvo had never openly praised them, but when Daud asked, Corvo did acknowledge their resolve and skills. 

Daud never saw those four as traitors of some sort. He was happy that _they_ were happy serving Corvo, even if Corvo could be very strict (even for Daud’s standards). 

And now those four were in Serkonos with Corvo, drinking whiskey and eating Serkonan delicacies, Daud thought bitterly. 

To spend his time, he had been brokering information from his contacts about Dunwall’s nobility circle, to be used in Emily’s favour of course. He had also, admittedly, stolen a few things from Corvo’s office, because he was bored and found them fancy, but mainly because he wanted to see Corvo’s reaction to his missing items. 

He opened his chest to look inside. The fountain pen he had taken many months earlier was still there. Billie’s note was there, rolled up. The piece of cloth was also there. It was old and ragged, but Daud couldn’t bear to throw it away. It was the last remaining piece from the clothes he wore when he first came to Gristol, his last solid remembrance of Serkonos. He now added two pens, some commemorative medal (Daud took it because he liked the colour) and a ring, things Daud conveniently grabbed from Corvo’s office. He then saw his jar of seashells at the bottom of the chest, and a melancholic feeling erupted to life. 

Corvo had asked about the things in his chest once, but Daud gave him vague answers and Corvo dropped the subject completely. 

It wasn’t that Daud didn’t trust Corvo. He would trust Corvo with his life. Daud was just finding it very hard to talk about his past to anyone. He had never revealed anything in decades, and it was difficult to speak of it. Corvo seemed to understand, and he never prompted about it ever again. 

It was about a week since Corvo was expected to arrive, and Daud was more than eager to see him again. 

But Corvo constantly found new ways to surprise Daud. Daud received news from one of his whalers that Corvo and Emily had just returned back to Dunwall. Daud delighted at the news in private; he only snorted in acknowledgement when the whaler came to him with the news. 

Corvo turned up in his room in the middle of the night. Corvo had blinked in, dragged him up for a heated kiss as a greeting, before settling down on a chair opposite Daud. Corvo was carrying something behind his back, Daud realised.

“You stole some things from my office, didn’t you?” Corvo’s voice was playful. “Stole my medal. And my ring.” 

Daud couldn’t help but smirk a little.

“You must be mistaken, Lord Protector. I merely found them on the floor.” 

“Wonderful.” Corvo snorted. “I don’t suppose this ‘floor’ you speak of happens to be in Dunwall tower, in my office, does it?” 

Daud shrugged in response, and Corvo laughed a little. 

“I got some things for you, from Serkonos.” 

Daud was truly surprised, and he blinked slowly at the Lord Protector. 

Corvo first pulled out a bottle, a traditional Serkonan wine. Daud carefully took it with a ‘thank you’. 

Corvo took out a fountain pen next, mainly gold with intricate carvings on the sides. It had a red cap, also metallic in nature. Daud looked at it in surprise, because the pen was exactly to Daud’s tastes, in colour and design. Did Corvo figure that out simply by taking note of what Daud took from his office? Daud amused himself with the thought. 

The last item made Daud’s face pale a little. 

It was a container, filled with seashells. 

Daud froze, with Corvo carefully observing his reaction. 

“You collect these.” Corvo offered as an explanation. 

His eyes were transfixed on the shells, and Corvo pushed the box into Daud’s hands, urging him to open it up. 

Corvo was studying him very closely, but Daud wasn’t paying attention. The shells were all of different colours, each one carefully cleaned and polished. Corvo must have picked each and every one of them with care, Daud realised. 

He rubbed his thumb over one of the shells, of a pale aquamarine colour. It was nothing like the shells he’s been collecting from Gristol. This shell was distinctly from Serkonos…from home.  
Of a simpler time, when he was still young. 

He picked up another shell, a pale pink, and another one, a speckled one in an exquisite curl. 

His mother-

His vision blurred a little, and then Daud realised that his eyes were filled with tears. 

He hadn’t cried in years. 

“I lived near the sea a lot, my mother used to collect these, outside her poison-making habits. She kept them in a wooden chest, under the bed.” Daud felt the need to say. 

Corvo was quiet. 

“When I couldn’t sleep, she would light a candle, pull out her wooden chest and tell me stories of the sea. She knew each and every shell, had names for them. Her favourite was a smooth white oval one, with streaks of gold and brown.”

Daud was rubbing a finger on a shell, his eyes unfocused.

“It was the smallest shell, but she liked it best. She called it her little ‘nugget of gold’, said it sparkled in the sun and glowed under the moon. I used to go out in the mornings to pick seashells for her. Would wash them clean, pack them into little pouches to bring them home. Always liked to see her smile. She liked the exquisite ones, those of pale pinks and the faintest greens, with spiral-” Daud stopped.

Corvo saw Daud’s eyes widen, a look of horror appearing on his face, like the man just realised he had been talking for the past minute or so. Daud’s face paled, and Corvo said nothing.  
There was a pause. 

“…Do you like it?” Corvo asked.

“I-Yes. Thank you, Corvo.” Daud smiled, it was a forced smile. 

Daud carefully placed each shell into his own jar, with Corvo just watching him from the side. 

Corvo tilted his head a little, like he was considering something. He didn’t say anything, and Daud couldn’t even begin to guess what Corvo was thinking. 

Daud picked up the bottle of Serkonan wine. 

“Share?” 

Corvo looked at him, and nodded. 

Daud and Corvo spent the next hour on the rooftops drinking, staring at the moon and stars. They hardly said anything to each other, but their hands were clasped together tightly by the side. 

When the bottle was nearly empty, Daud found himself not wanting Corvo to leave. His mind was filled with memories of his mother, of Serkonos, now all flooding back and he- Daud stopped himself. 

Corvo felt Daud’s fingers tighten around his, just very slightly, and his eyes narrowed a little. 

Daud didn’t ask him to stay. 

When the bottle was empty, Corvo said a soft goodbye, and left for Dunwall tower. Daud forced himself to be amiable, but his hands already felt empty without Corvo. 

He watched Corvo go, feeling a deep ache permeate his heart.

Daud then blinked back to his room, and lay down on his bed. His mind was reeling, and the memories he had brutally locked away for decades were now all gushing out.  
He closed his eyes. 

All he could think of was the beach where he used to collect the shells. The smell of the sea. The heat of the sun. 

He turned to the left, sinking his head into the pillow. 

He remembered dashing home, the pouch bouncing against his leg, a bright smile on his face. His mother, long brown hair, tied in a bun. 

Daud opened his eyes, and found tears again. 

It was so foreign, crying. Daud hadn’t cried since he was abducted, he hadn’t cried when he arrived in Gristol, hadn’t cried when he became an assassin, hadn’t cried when he killed Jessamine, and he hadn’t even cried when Corvo broke down in front of him all those months ago. 

Why was he crying now? 

A sob was rising up his throat, and Daud forced it back down, rubbing away the tears. 

Those days were _gone._

Daud turned to the right to face the wall, and shut his eyes. His heart was aching, his hands were empty. It was a warm night, but Daud felt so cold. So… _alone._

Daud felt the mattress dip down at the left side, and his eyes flew open. 

Familiar hands snuck around his waist, pulled him close. Daud melted into the warmth, and his shoulders relaxed. 

“You came back.” He said, the relief in his voice impossible to hide. 

“Went back to settle some things.” Came the reply, a comforting hum that Daud could feel resonate in his body. 

“Why did you come back?” 

“To take back my things.” 

Daud’s lips quirked up a little. 

“Go to sleep.” Corvo said, his hands so soft against Daud. 

Daud shut his eyes, pressed back against Corvo. Corvo’s warmth and deep breaths made the memories of home feel…light. They were still replaying in his mind, but instead of feeling empty and desolate, the memories felt dipped in gold, the warmth from his memories pooling together with the warmth from Corvo, lulling Daud into a deep sleep.


	15. Extra: Corvo's Birthday

It was going to be the Month of Nets. Emily was feeling quite exasperated. Apart from going to her usual lessons and meetings as a budding Empress, she did worry about Corvo very much.

Corvo’s birthday was the 25th day of the Month of Nets, everyone knew that. And the problem was, Emily didn’t know what to give Corvo. When she asked him, Corvo smiled and said he didn’t want anything. 

The response didn’t satisfy Emily at all. On Emily’s birthday, Corvo always gave her something, be it toys or books, and Emily liked every single one of them. He always knew how to make her happy. She wanted to do the same for him. 

But she couldn’t think of anything good enough to give Corvo. Was it because she was young? Or she didn’t understand Corvo very well? Emily was angered at the very thought that she couldn’t make him happy. 

Corvo always said that as long as she was happy, he was, and Emily wasn’t happy hearing that at all. 

After her…mother…died, Corvo had changed. He didn’t seem as happy as he used to be, and his smile never quite reached his eyes anymore. Emily had since endeavoured to make him smile like before.

She asked the chef to make Serkonan dishes. 

She played hide and seek. 

She drew drawings. 

Corvo knew what she was doing, he would hug her and say thank you. But Emily didn’t want to be treated like a _child_. Corvo could tell her if he was feeling sad. She would listen, she could help! 

Emily was upset, and she vowed, that her birthday present to Corvo would _finally_ make him happy as before. 

She was going to do it, and she would do it even if she had to seek help from somebody she hated to the core. 

Sending the message to the man without Corvo noticing was harder than she thought, but Emily finally managed it when Corvo was out patrolling one evening. 

The next night, the man appeared in her room as requested. 

“Your majesty.” Daud greeted. 

Emily saw the man look around, probably for Corvo, because Emily would _never_ be around him without Corvo. 

When he realised Corvo wasn’t around, he turned back to face her. 

“How can I be of service to you?” 

“I…” Emily swallowed, her heart beating. The man looked scary, a long scar across half of his face, and dressed in red, he looked even scarier. 

“I need you to do something for me.” Emily did her best to keep her voice firm. 

Daud kept a careful distance from the girl. 

“What is it?” 

“I want you to find out what Corvo likes.” 

There was a stunned silence. 

“…What?” 

Emily was blushing, she couldn’t help it. 

“I want you to find out what Corvo likes.” Emily repeated. 

“Why?” His voice was bewildered. 

“Because I ordered you to!” Emily snapped. 

Daud just stared at her, his arms crossed. Emily crossed her own arms and glared back at Daud. 

“As you wish.” Daud sighed, and he disappeared. 

Emily continued standing there for seconds, breathing heavily. Her heart was still pounding, and she was sweating. 

It took a long while before she could calm down and fall asleep. 

The next night, Daud returned. Emily jumped when he had appeared, a scream just about to leave her throat before she clammed her mouth shut. 

“So?” Emily demanded, steeling herself. 

“I…have thought about your request.” Daud started, very carefully. “He clearly cares about you very much. Just be happy and he’ll-”

“What else?” Emily interrupted almost instantly. 

Emily saw Daud’s chest fall as he let out a long breath, something she saw nobles do very often in meetings to hide their frustration. 

“Honestly, I don’t know why you’re asking me. You already kno-”

“What else?!” Emily was almost screaming. Daud was treating her like a _child_ , and she hated it. 

“Why do you want to kno-” 

“It doesn’t matter! I ordered you, so you have to do it!” She knew she sounded petulant, but she didn’t care. 

“Knowing a reason at least would help me in collecting said information.” Daud’s voice reeked of exaggerated patience. Emily’s face reddened at the tone. 

Emily continued glaring at him, and wondered very briefly if she should just start crying or throw a tantrum just to get Corvo to beat Daud up. 

She stilled herself, and forced back the thoughts of animosity with a gulp. She _wasn’t_ a child. 

“I…I just want to give him a birthday present that he’ll like.” 

Emily’s response must have surprised Daud, and he stayed silent for a while. 

“Draw him something, spend some time with him. He’ll definitely be happy.” 

“I did!!” Emily shouted. “But…he’s not happy.” 

Daud sighed out loud, exasperated. Emily didn’t like anything about the man. He treated her like a child and he was the one that killed…mother. He may be helping Corvo, but she hated him. 

They continued looking at each other. 

“Alright, I’ll go investigate it.” Daud finally gave in, turning back for the window. 

Daud handed in a list of miscellaneous items to Emily a week later.

Emily read weapons, rings, pens, and other _stupid_ things, and she crumpled it without even reading it halfway through. It was in shreds before she could help it, and she looked back at Daud. 

“It’s not good enough! He’s not going to be happy just like that!! Do better!”

Daud opened his mouth, about to say something, before he closed it again. Emily watched, satisfied, when Daud just nodded and left again. 

The next three lists Daud came back with were fed to the fire. 

By that point, Emily could tell Daud was completely fed up with her. His voice had grown impatient and curt, but Emily didn’t really care what he felt. 

“Like I told you, just draw something for him, play with him, do whatever it is you do with him and Corvo will be happy.” Daud had that annoyingly patient tone that Emily resented. 

“No! He’s…not…happy that way.” Emily was so frustrated. She didn’t know how to make stupid Daud understand, and she didn’t know what to do. 

“He’s not happy, he’s not happy! You keep _saying_ that. You’re just acting ridiculous!” Daud growled, and Emily flinched very hard at the tone, recoiling in fear. 

Daud drew back, leaning against the windowsill. 

“I don’t know how to make him happy.” Emily said, tears suddenly stinging in her eyes. 

“Is it because mother’s not around and he has to deal with me? Is it because he has to be my Royal Protector instead of mother’s?” Emily asked, tears rolling down. 

Daud was quiet for a moment. 

“He is _happy_. He’s happy to be with you. He obviously loves you very much.” Daud’s voice was still rough and gravelly, but it had calmed to a much softer tone. 

“He loved…m-mother. I’m not her.”

“You may not be, but he definitely loves you the same. You have spent your whole life with him, haven’t you? He plays with you, talks to you, and still keeps all your drawings. Why would you think he doesn’t love you? Nothing makes him happier than seeing you grow up safe and sound.” 

“B-but why?! Why can’t he be happy because of himself?” 

This was the part that irritated Emily the most. Corvo always said _she_ made him happy, but how could that ever make him truly happy? Surely there was _something_ that Corvo wanted, and Emily could give it to him.

Daud was considering his reply very carefully, his expression unreadable to Emily. 

“Sometimes people act strangely when children are involved.” 

Emily was smart enough to catch the meaning behind that statement. 

“Is he my father?” Emily asked. 

There was a pause, which more than answered Emily’s most unanswered question in her life.

“He might be.” 

Emily rubbed her eyes, to wipe away all the tears, a little embarrassed that she’d cried in front of Daud. Emily then nodded a little, and Daud took it as a sign that he was dismissed.  
She had a faint idea of what she wanted to give Corvo now. 

Emily went to sit at her table, pulled out a piece of paper and crayon, and started to draw.

*****************

It was the 25th day of the Month of Nets. Corvo was wished ‘Happy Birthday’ wherever he went in Dunwall Tower, and he was a little uncomfortable with the attention he was getting.

He did appreciate the sentiment, but Corvo had never liked attention. He preferred to be quiet and remain in the shadows, appearing and disappearing as he pleased. 

But today was not an option, he supposed. He never really cared about birthdays, it was just like any other regular day for him, but that didn’t mean that the citizens and guards shared his opinion. 

The Outsider, apparently, did care about his birthday. He was in Corvo’s dreams once more, in a scene similar to Lady Boyle’s party, glided in gold and luxurious carpeting. Corvo had frowned a little, but wandered around the place searching for him, to appease the Outsider, perhaps. 

Corvo then found a shrine in one of the rooms. This shrine was more well-kept than the many others he had seen, and instead of a rune at the table, a bone charm was laid there, hissing ancient noises. 

The moment Corvo picked it up, the Outsider appeared before him in a swirl of shadows. 

“Dear Corvo.” 

“What is this?” Corvo asked, very puzzled. 

“It’s a gift. For you. This charm can help relieve the effects of the music boxes. Going to Holger Square to see the High Overseer won’t bring you so much suffering now.” 

Corvo’s eyes widened. It was true, he never liked visiting the High Overseer, even though it was necessary especially when Emily had things to settle with them. The Abbey played the music on a regular basis, blasting it through loudspeakers throughout Holger Square, and it was absolutely unbearable. To normal people, the music already sounded awful, but to Corvo, it _hurt_ as well. He often had to nurse splitting headaches, nosebleeds and strange bruises after each visit. 

“This charm can’t nullify the music completely, but it will help alleviate the pain.” The Outsider motioned. 

Corvo was stunned for a long moment. This gift…was actually thoughtful. He turned the bone charm around, and back. 

“Thank you.” Corvo finally said, looking up at the Outsider who was watching his reaction.

The Outsider nodded a little in response. 

“Happy Birthday Corvo.” The Outsider smiled.

Then Corvo woke up, the bone charm clutched in his hand. 

It remained in his pocket for the rest of the day. 

During his first meeting, Geoff Curnow gave him a few bottles of his favourite whiskey, and Corvo thanked him graciously. 

Some of the maids offered a tart, or a fresh fruit, and Corvo was too courteous to refuse, so he resigned to eating every single one of them. 

Most of the guardsmen were too scared of him to give him anything. Only four particular guards, also whalers, gleefully showered Corvo with gifts, and Corvo could only awkwardly accept them. 

(Gifts from the other whalers were also found on Corvo’s table later. The novices gave him a string of river krust pearls.)

After lunch, he was dragged out to the gardens by Emily. The young girl was jubilant, and Corvo couldn’t help but smile brightly at her happiness. Emily then shooed away the guards, asking for a private moment with her Lord Protector. 

“I drew you something, Corvo!” The girl tottered between both legs, grinning up at Corvo. Her hands were tucked behind her back, holding a large piece of paper. 

“What is it?” 

Emily pulled out the drawing from behind her back to proudly show Corvo. 

“Happy birthday!”

It was a picture of Emily and him, playing in the same gardens they were in right then. 

Corvo smiled, genuinely happy, and knelt down to give Emily a hug. 

Emily pounced into the embrace instantly, wrapping her arms around Corvo’s neck. Emily pulled herself up slightly, her head balancing on Corvo’s shoulder. She tilted her head, her lips inches away from Corvo’s ear. 

“I love you daddy.” 

Corvo froze, the motion so brief he was sure Emily wouldn’t notice, and if his arms tightened a little too much around Emily, the girl didn’t complain. Corvo held Emily for a second longer than he normally would, before reluctantly pulling away to straighten Emily’s clothes. 

Emily beamed at him, and Corvo smiled back, thanking her earnestly for the drawing. 

The rest of the day continued like that, until Corvo’s office was filled with gifts and letters. 

At the end of the day, he returned to his office with a loud sigh and shrugged off his heavy coat. The bone charm was still pulsing in his pocket, and he fished it out, tossing it in the air and catching it again idly. He smiled as he laid out Emily’s drawing, and remembered what Emily told him. _I love you daddy._ A warm tingling feeling rose up his chest, and for once, Corvo let himself indulge in the sensation. 

He set the drawing aside after staring at it for a few minutes. He still had paperwork to do after all, and his work had been delayed due to spontaneous gift-giving and wishing. They did so with good intentions, and Corvo had smiled and thanked each one of them even though he only wanted to finish his work quick. 

Corvo settled into his chair, staring at the stack of forms and letters he had to reply, and sighed again. He then reluctantly picked the first one up, blinking in surprise when he realised it was already filled. The next one was completed too, and the next. 

Dumbfounded, Corvo stared at the handwriting carefully. 

It did look like his own. 

Corvo only knew one person who would be so pointlessly bored to actually help finish Corvo’s work, and the person appeared behind him that very instant, wrapping his hands around Corvo’s waist. 

“Why so gloomy, Lord Protector?” 

Corvo didn’t jump at Daud’s sudden appearance, but he did perk up slightly. 

“You finished my work.” 

Daud hummed a little, resting his head on Corvo’s shoulder. 

“Your pens came in handy after all.” Daud smirked. “And you’ve not been sleeping much recently, so I thought I’ll give you a hand, especially on this special day.” 

Corvo could feel the vibration of Daud’s voice through his own body.

“How generous.” Corvo snorted. 

“Are you tired?” 

_Not for you._ Corvo was tempted to tease him. He tilted his head to the side instead.

“I’m not tired.” He replied. 

Daud knew he was lying, because Corvo had just spent the past few days awake, and the eye bags below the man’s eyes were very pronounced. 

“You should sleep.” Daud told him, ignoring the glint in Corvo’s eyes. He knew the man had other ideas. 

“No.” Corvo’s lips were twisted into a small pout, and he sounded like a petulant child, like Emily. Daud frowned. 

“Get some rest.” Daud repeated, very much like a parent (like Corvo to Emily). 

“Make me.” Corvo kissed him, full of heat and passion.

Daud’s grip on his waist tightened fractionally, and from Corvo’s smirk as he pulled away from Daud, the man could feel it too. 

Daud considered the man for a while. 

“You’re stubborn.” Daud scolded, still playing along. 

Corvo lips were on Daud’s neck. 

“And needy.” 

Corvo licked a strip up his neck. Daud’s breath stuttered. 

“Very high maintenance. You’re worse than the wolfhounds.” 

Corvo bit down on his neck, and Daud couldn’t suppress the groan that escaped him. 

“And you like it.” Corvo was smiling now. 

Daud gave a short laugh, and let Corvo drag him towards the bed, pulling his clothes off.

After all that was over, Corvo was lying boneless on the bed, his eyes shut and his chest rising up and down in deep breaths. He was barely awake when Daud used a wet cloth to clean up the mess before throwing a blanket over him. Daud proceeded to pick up Corvo’s clothes and fold them into a neat pile on the table. He also filled a glass of water and softly placed it by the bedside. By the time Daud rearranged everything and turned off the lights, Corvo was sound asleep. 

Daud’s mark flared as he prepared to transverse out, and then he cast a look back to the sleeping Lord Protector. 

He thought about it for a moment, before he walked over noiselessly, bent down, and kissed the man lightly on the forehead. 

Like what Corvo does to Emily. 

“Happy Birthday, Corvo.” He whispered. 

Daud blinked away, not seeing the faint smile that appeared on Corvo’s face as he left.


End file.
